Rays hope to get Wander Franco back next week

Rays shortstop Wander Franco resumed his rehab assignment Sunday, slotting in as the designated hitter for the Triple-A Durham Bulls as he attempts to return from July hamate surgery. The plan, as relayed by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, is for Franco to stick with the Bulls for a few more games and rejoin the Rays for their series against the Blue Jays on September 12.

Of course, this is contingent on Franco feeling well in the coming days. He attempted to begin a rehab assignment a few weeks ago but was pulled off due to continued soreness in his hand. It seems like he’s in a better position this time around, however. “This is definitely the best I’ve felt since the injury,” Franco tells Topkin, via interpreter Manny Navarro. “That’s probably the most important thing, if he feels good where he’s at, where we’re at,” manager Kevin Cash said.

Getting Franco back for the final few weeks of the regular season would certainly be a boon for the Rays. They are currently five games back of the Yankees in the battle for the AL East crown and sandwiched between the Mariners and Blue Jays in the Wild Card picture. The club also put second baseman Brandon Lowe on the IL last week, which further subtracted from their infield depth.

Other injury notes from around the league…

• Astros righty Justin Verlander went on the IL a week ago due to a calf injury, with both Verlander and general manager James Click expressing optimism that a significant absence wouldn’t be necessary. However, Verlander probably won’t return after the 15-day minimum, Click tells Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros are fortunate enough to be sitting on a record of 86-48, six games ahead of the Yankees for the best record in the American League and 17 games ahead of the Central-leading Guardians/Twins. That means the club is cruising to a first round bye and can allow Verlander to return at whatever pace is best for his health, as opposed to rushing him back for meaningful games down the stretch. Prior to the injury, the 39-year-old was having an incredible season, especially when considering he effectively missed the previous two years. He’s thrown 152 innings in 2022 with a 1.84 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate and 4.5% walk rate en route to a 16-3 record. By surpassing the 130-inning mark, he has vested a $25M player option for next year.
• The Nationals placed right-hander Victor Arano on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 2, due to a right shoulder strain. The club hasn’t released any information about Arano’s timeline, but with only about four weeks left on the schedule, it’s possible that this ailment will end his season. He’s thrown 42 innings this year, his first MLB action since 2019. He has a 4.50 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 51.6% ground ball rate. A 58.9% strand rate is probably inflating that ERA, with advanced metrics like FIP (3.71), xFIP (3.45) and SIERA (3.12) thinking he deserved much better. The 27-year-old will cross three years of MLB service time by season’s end, meaning he will qualify for arbitration for the first time.