Franklin's recent demotion to Triple-A Durham is not a reflection on his performance with the big league club, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 25-year-old actually performed well during his six-week stay with the Rays, slashing .313/.377/.458 over 48 at-bats, with a homer and 13 RBI. Franklin's demotion to the minors upon Steve Pearce's return from a DL stint on Monday was largely based on the probability of reduced playing time as a result of several sidelined players getting healthy in the last two weeks. In contrast, Franklin is expected to receive plenty of opportunity at Triple-A Durham, including in the outfield. "Right now we're getting a little crunched in the outfield, and finding him time in the infield would be difficult, also," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.