'It's going to be special': Wander up for the challenge in '22

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- When Wander Franco was 13 years old, he deftly answered questions at a press conference about his future and long-term goals. When he was 18, he became the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball. When he was 20, he made his Major League debut and somehow lived up to the impossible hype.

For Franco, pressure comes with the territory.

So no, the 21-year-old phenom isn’t feeling any extra anxiety entering his first full season in the Majors. He’s not worried about living up to the hype associated with the record-setting contract he signed with the Rays in November. He’s not going to be any different, he said, on or off the field.

“I know a lot of things have changed in this last year,” Franco said Monday morning through interpreter Manny Navarro, “but I like to think I'm in the same place as I was last year mentally.”

Of course, a lot has changed for Franco over the last year.

He hit .288/.347/.463 with seven home runs during his 70-game rookie campaign. He was at his best in the Rays’ American League Division Series loss to the Red Sox, going 7-for-19 with a pair of homers. He finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting. He signed an extension with Tampa Bay that guarantees him $182 million over the next 11 years, with the potential to earn $223 million through 2033.

“He’s a tremendous player. As we’ve seen before, and as I’ve said before, he can handle the pressure pretty well,” added starter Luis Pati?o. “He’s a future young star. What he did, he deserves exactly what he got in terms of his contract.”

Above the MLB logo tattoo on the left side of Franco’s neck, which he had done after his second season in professional baseball, Franco added the numbers “22-06-21” for June 22, 2021: the date of his MLB debut. He indulged by buying three new necklaces with some of his new earnings, including the diamond medallion he wore Monday with his last name and No. 5 inscribed on it.

When he went home to Bani, Dominican Republic, at the end of last season, Franco said his family surprised him with a party to celebrate. He vowed, in turn, to keep them “well-fed” with the generational wealth he’ll acquire during his long-term deal. And, Franco acknowledged, his rise has prompted some “people that come out of nowhere,” seeking money and proximity to fame, in his life.

None of it seems to have changed the budding star shortstop. He even worked out this offseason, like all the others before it, on the same fields where he grew up playing. If anything’s different, it’s only that Franco feels a little more confident in his abilities after putting them on display at the game’s highest level.

“I'm just out there to play baseball normally like I know how to play,” Franco said. “The important part is that we're here and to have fun. I like to stay like that.”

His coaches expected nothing less.

“He's a really level-headed guy. Very driven, very motivated to be a good player, wants to help us win,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He's always had something on his back. He's removed himself from prospect status; now, he's got the biggest contract. I think he's going to be fine.”

“Seeing what he could do in the playoffs in that atmosphere, for me, that was the most special thing to see,” third-base coach Rodney Linares said. “The way he performed in the playoffs, that told us a lot. The sky's the limit. I don't think anything fazes that kid. … And I think he's going to be fine. With all the hype that he came up to the big leagues [with], he performed that way. Now, he got the big contract.”

When asked how Franco can improve this season, Cash thought for a long moment then laughed. The best he could come up with was, “Consistency? I don't know. ... The way his year ended as a player, it would be probably foolish to say he needs to be that much better.”

“The kid's good,” Rays starter Shane McClanahan said. “He's going to be a big, big, big part of our success going forward, and I know we're very lucky to have him.”

Still, Linares challenged Franco to reach a new level this season. As soon as the lockout ended, Linares sent Franco a voice memo saying, “We’re going 30 [homers]-30 [steals] this year.” Franco responded with, among other words, “Yeah, let’s go!”

“I was like, all right, he's excited, so I'm excited for him,” Linares said. “I'm excited for the whole team, but I'm really excited to see his encore year. I think it's going to be special.”

Personal goals aside, Franco has a greater achievement in mind this year. He and McClanahan were two of the last players to leave the dugout after the Rays’ season ended at Fenway Park last October, looking across the field as the Red Sox celebrated the series victory they believed they were good enough to earn. This year, Franco wants to celebrate like that a few times.

No pressure.

“The motivation was there,” Franco said. “I knew I wanted to advance a little bit further than I did that day sitting in that dugout.”