Very few people think Wander Franco will ever play in Major League Baseball again. Despite his immense talent and young age, 25, the court finding him guilty, twice, on charges of abusing a minor, it does seem unlikely that he will.
Last week, a judge finally put Wander Franco’s sordid case to rest. Authorities had charged him with having an inappropriate four-month-long relationship with a then–14-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic when he was 21-years-old. Despite finding him guilty, the judge granted him a judicial pardon, claiming he was both a defendant and a victim because the minor girl’s mother extorted and blackmailed him.
Franco signed a $3.8 million contract with Tampa Bay when he was just 16-years-old and became an All-Star at the age of 22. The team had signed him to an $182 million contract when MLB placed him on administrative leave in August 2023. They later transferred him to the league’s restricted list, and he has not played since.
“We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,” Major League Baseball said in a statement following the judge’s decision.
One Hall of Famer hopes Wander Franco gets a second chance to play in MLB
Considering Trevor Bauer, who has never faced any criminal charges, has not signed with a Major League Baseball team since 2022, despite putting up good numbers internationally, it seems like a long shot for a team to sign Wander Franco. That hasn’t stopped one Baseball Hall of Famer from hoping that one does.
TMZ spoke to Adrian Beltre at Los Angeles International Airport this week. TMZ asked him about Wander Franco and whether he should have another opportunity to play in MLB.
“It’s a sensitive situation, but I think, I believe that everybody has a second chance,” Beltre replied. “[MLB is] really strict about these things. It’s just a sensitive situation. I don’t really know enough about it.”
Beltre isn’t alone in hoping Wander Franco gets another chance in MLB. Another Hall of Famer, Pedro Martínez, also said he hopes Wander gets another opportunity to play again in Major League Baseball.
“I don’t really know if he would. I’m hoping that he can actually reestablish himself, not only spiritually, but mentally. As humans, we all deserve an opportunity to redo ourselves,” Martinez told TMZ at the Sports Emmys in May.
“The system so far, it’s really complicated getting back, but I’m hoping that as humans, we all give him a chance to become a better person, to understand what he did, to work on it, and more importantly than anything, just to reestablish himself in society, and understand that wasn’t right and he needs to do it in a better way for the future and serve as an example for others just in case he doesn’t make it back,” he added.