CLEARWATER, Fla. -- On Tuesday, the Rays optioned top-ranked prospect Carson Williams to Minor League camp with the expectation that he would begin the season in Triple-A Durham.
Not so fast. The Rays may need him soon
Shortstop Taylor Walls is dealing with a right oblique injury and will begin the season on the injured list. That means the Rays need to figure out what to do at shortstop on Opening Day, and Williams is back in the mix as a candidate for that job.
“Nothing's been decided,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said Thursday. “We'll kind of sort through it over the next few days to determine what's the best way to break.”
Walls felt the issue while hitting in the cage on Tuesday, and imaging on Wednesday provided further clarity on his injury. Neander said it’s “not clear just yet” how much time Walls will miss, but it’s reasonable to assume any degree of oblique strain will cost him about a month of the regular season.
It’s a frustrating development for Walls, the Gold Glove Award finalist who had taken injury concerns into consideration as he tweaked his approach to preparation this spring. And it creates an unexpected question for the Rays to answer with a week remaining before Opening Day.
The Rays won’t guarantee that the job belongs to Williams, who made his MLB debut as Tampa Bay’s regular shortstop down the stretch last season, but he is back on the radar only two days after he was told he was being sent down.
“There’s no guarantees with Carson. He’s here,” bench coach Rodney Linares said Thursday morning. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
One option would be using utility infielder Ben Williamson as the regular shortstop in Walls’ absence and finding someone else to serve as a backup infielder, whether that’s an internal option or someone from another club who becomes available.
Acquired from the Mariners in an offseason trade, Williamson has had an excellent Spring Training at the plate and as a utility infielder working at shortstop, second and third base. He can hold his own offensively, and he seems capable of playing shortstop on a regular basis defensively as well.
But the Rays view Williamson’s job as an important one, expecting him to receive a lot of playing time as a backup at shortstop and third base and a platoon option at second. So they might choose to leave him in that role and more directly replace Walls as the everyday shortstop.
That’s where Williams comes back into the picture.
If the Rays decide to make Williams their shortstop, he can be recalled to the active roster when the Rays place Walls on the IL. The earliest that can take place is Sunday.
“Internally, I think there's different ways we can go. We've had some guys that can play that position and have done a good job this camp,” Neander said. “Obviously we're getting Carson into a little more Major League action here. Changes the consideration for him.”
Williams had been scheduled to represent the Rays in Thursday night’s Spring Breakout game against the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Instead, he found out during Wednesday’s off-day that he would be in the Rays’ lineup against the Phillies on Thursday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark, batting leadoff and playing shortstop.
“I just saw the lineup today and was like, ‘OK, I guess I’m going here instead of Port St. Lucie,’” Williams said.
It was a surprising development after Williams was sent to the Minors on Tuesday. As Rays officials shared that expected news with the 22-year-old top prospect, they lauded him for the work he did over the offseason and how it translated to a terrific showing this spring.
“Carson's been awesome, man. We've talked about his growth,” Linares said. “We've talked about how good he's been in spring. He's done everything that we've asked.”
Williams took the lessons he learned in the Majors to heart as he spent last offseason at the Symbiotic Training Center in San Diego. With all the usual caveats about small sample sizes and Spring Training statistics, he’s cut back on the strikeout concerns that followed him through the Minors and proved even more glaring in the Majors last season.
He altered his swing to cover more of the plate with an up-the-middle approach, giving him a better chance to make contact and still drive the ball, and sped up his internal clock to improve his double-play turns.
Will he get a chance to show it in St. Louis next week? Stay tuned.
“I am just trying to play baseball,” Williams said. “If they want me up there, that’s awesome, and I’m ready to go for them. If I go to Durham, I’m going to go put more work in and make sure I’m ready when they give me the call.”