Wander Franco won’t be with the Tampa Bay Rays for at least a week, and is under investigation by Major League Baseball.
Early Sunday afternoon, social media posts alleging that Franco, 22, had been involved with a 14-year-old girl in his native Dominican Republic, went viral. The country’s legal age of consent is 18.
Franco happened to be out of the lineup on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier this season, Rays manager Kevin Cash benched the shortstop for “not being the best teammate,” sidelining him for two games. But on Sunday morning, Cash told reporters it was “just a day off” for Franco, and stuck to that story following his team’s 9-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians.
“I am aware of the speculation,” Cash said. “I’m not going to comment any further on that, but the day off was because of the day off.”
While the shortstop had played the last 40 consecutive games, it was surprising that he’d get Sunday day off, when the Rays’ giveaway for fans aged 14 and under was a “Wander Franco Snapback Hat.”
Even so, Franco left the dugout about halfway through the game, and wasn’t in the clubhouse when it ended. According to the Tampa Bay Times, a clubhouse attendant packed “baseball gear into a team travel bag at (Franco’s) locker.”
On Sunday night, the Rays confirmed that MLB was looking into the situation.
“During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco,” the team’s statement read. “We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”
Franco didn’t travel to San Francisco with the team. By early Monday afternoon, the Rays announced that he was going on the restricted list. Shortly before 1 p.m., the team’s public relations department’s X (formerly Twitter) account released a second statement:
“The Tampa Bay Rays and Wander Franco have mutually agreed that he will go on the Restricted List and take leave from the Club for the duration of the current road trip.”
Less than an hour later, their X account shared an additional update in response to the news of MLB launching an official investigation:
“We support any steps taken by the league to better understand the situation. Out of respect for all parties involved, we have no further comments at this time.”
In a situation such as this, it’s important to note the distinction between administrative leave and the restricted list. Both are means of removing a player from the team’s roster while still keeping them under club control, however, on administrative leave, a player continues to accrue service time and receive their salary. The restricted list has no such requirement, but ESPN reports that the Rays are continuing to pay Franco’s salary. He signed an 11-year, $182 million contract in 2021.