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.
Shortstop Taylor Walls is dealing with a right oblique injury and will begin the season on the injured list. That creates a path for Williams to rejoin the Rays as their Opening Day shortstop.
“There’s no guarantees with Carson. He’s here,” bench coach Rodney Linares said Thursday morning. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
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 was in the Rays’ lineup against the Phillies, batting leadoff and playing shortstop, at BayCare Ballpark.
Walls felt the issue while hitting in the cage on Tuesday, and imaging on Wednesday provided further clarity on his injury.
Even though he was optioned to the Minors, Williams can be recalled to the active roster when the Rays place Walls on the IL. The earliest that can take place is Sunday.
Williams had been 8-for-22 (.364) with two doubles, one walk and five strikeouts in 24 plate appearances to start this spring. He consistently hit the ball hard, and while it’s generally unwise to dig too deep into Spring Training statistics, he cut back on the strikeout concerns that have followed him through his ascent through Tampa Bay’s system.
Manager Kevin Cash commended Williams over the weekend, noting that hitting coach Chad Mottola was “really pleased” with the work he did coming into Spring Training. The 22-year-old shortstop spent last offseason at the Symbiotic Training Center in San Diego, which is owned by Padres starter Joe Musgrove.
After learning a lot on the fly as the Rays’ regular shortstop down the stretch last season, Williams said he worked to apply those lessons to his training.
“That was the goal the entire time,” Williams said recently. “I worked harder than I ever have before, and it was on hopefully the right things, the things that we came up with while we got that time in the big leagues.”