The Tampa Bay Rays will have quite a stacked Spring Training roster when it comes to middle infielders, but it's likely that two relatively-recent acquisitions have the inside track for starting roles at second base and shortstop.
Speaking with the media recently, new manager Kevin Cash said it'd be "like pulling teeth" to remove veteran Asdrubal Cabrera from the lineup - a compliment in Cash's eyes, as he also went on to praise Cabrera's influence on the team's youth in the clubhouse.
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So, with Cabrera likely to take over at second base going forward in Tampa, it'll be a three-way battle for the starting shortstop job come this spring.
Per Daniel Russell of SB Nation, "alongside Cabrera, Cash narrowed the competition for the other starting role down to perennial prospect Tim Beckham, young switch-hitter Nick Franklin, and bench infielder Logan Forsythe."
Franklin, traded to the Rays in 2013 as part of the David Price deal, is the frontrunner for the gig. After being issued #2 after a mid-September callup last season, Franklin is almost guaranteed to make the club regardless of if he wins the shortstop job outright.
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