Taylor Walls Undergoes Hip Surger

7:53 pm: While the Rays are not prepared to say that Walls will be ready for Opening Day, his manager is optimistic he could be back for the start of the 2024 season, per . If hes running before he comes into spring training, that would be a very good sign, said Kevin Cash. Still, the skipper cautioned that its too soon to know for sure: I think well know more in a month. 2:51 pm: The Rays announced this afternoon (as relayed by ) that shortstop underwent a surgical procedure on his right hip today. The procedure aimed to relieve discomfort due to an impingement and repair a tear in the labrum of the hip. Per the Rays, Walls is expected to be ready for baseball activities in February, though his readine s for Opening Day wont be clear until he returns to baseball activities and a timeline can be established. Its an incredibly unfortunate development for the Rays. Walls, 27, down the stretch in 2023 following the placement of star shortstop on administrative leave while the league investigated allegations against Franco of inappropriate relationships with multiple minors. While Walls hit well early in the season, slashing .244/.349/.481 in his first 152 trips to the plate, he struggled the rest of the way, slashing just .169/.270/. Jose Rojas Jersey 221 with a 27.9% strikeout rate over his final 197 plate appearances. Despite that downturn in offensive production, Walls still looked to be in line for the lions share of time at shortstop entering next year, pending a decision on Francos situation. Walls, a finalist of the utility Gold Glove award in the AL, saw his glove work around the infield praised by Defensive Runs Saved (+10 DRS) but panned by Outs Above Average (-6). The Rays have a few other options at shortstop in the event that the everyday job remains vacant headed into Opening Day. Youngsters , , and are all already on the 40-man roster, though none of the group have found succe s in the major leagues to this point in their careers. Camineros .235/.278/.353 slash line in a brief 36-PA cup of coffee was the best major-league performance among that trio by measure of wRC+. Given that reality, the club may be best served looking for an external shortstop option to provide depth at the position via free agency. Such an addition may be easier said than done, however. After all, the Rays are already due to stretch the clubs budget in 2024, with projecting the club for a $120MM payroll that exceeds their 2023 figure by more than $50MM. The club may have already been poised to shed salary by moving on from the likes of , , and perhaps even , but such a move seems all the more likely if the Rays are forced to commit additional resources to shortstop in 2024. Quality shortstop options are few and far between in free agency this offseason, with the likes of , , and representing some of the best options available. Ryan Noda Jersey