Wander Franco Likely Heading For Surgery on Hamate Bone Injury

Rays shortstop Wander Franco was placed on the 10-day IL immediately after Saturday's contest with what manager Kevin Cash called a hamate bone injury.

Wander Franco Injury Update

Unfortunately for the Rays and Franco, hook of the hamate fractures do not heal easily, according to the Pro Baseball Docs, and Franco is likely heading for surgery to excise, or remove, the fractured portion of the bone.

Surgery would leave him out for six-to-eight weeks, putting his return at late August to early September.

Franco suffered the injury on a swing in the top of the 1st inning and exited the game after a called strike three. After the game, Cash told reporters he would wait for further tests to confirm the severity.

There is a slight chance he's not diagnosed with a fracture, but the details surrounding the injury don't seem to be heading that way.

The good news, however, is that recovery and long-term return-to-play will be reliable after the surgery.

The hook of hamate is located near the base of the hand bordering the wrist. That area of the hand is wrapped around the base of the bat and takes the first wave of brunt force on swings.

Hamate issues in general are not great news. Mets' catcher James McCann suffered a hook of hamate fracture on May 10 and was out until June 25.

Bryson DeChambeau similarly suffered a hamate fracture, but chose to delay surgery. He flopped out of the Masters and pulled out of the PGA Championship before undergoing surgery in mid-April.

Franco is batting .260 this season with five home runs, 23 RBI, and 34 runs in 227 at-bats. 

The 21-year-old has actually taken a step back compared to his 70-game sample size in 2021 while struggling with various quad and hamstring injuries.

Jonathan Aranda, 24, is likely to be called up from Triple-A to take Franco's place on the roster.