Getty Image / Tim Heitman
A week ago, Wander Franco was known as one of baseball’s premier young stars. Now, he may never play in MLB again.
Things went haywire on Sunday, when Franco was scratched from the Rays game against The Cleveland Guardians. At that time, messages alleging that Wander Franco had a sexual relationship with a minor started to surface on social media.
Wander Franco didn’t travel with the Rays for their next series in San Francisco, and MLB started to look into the allegations.
MLB is looking into the social media posts and has yet to verify the information. This early in the process, without confirmed facts, Franco could be placed on the restricted list or administrative leave. The Rays, when asked about Franco not being on the plane, declined comment.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 14, 2023
And, the news that has come out since, while not consequential either way, hasn’t exactly been encouraging for his chances to play anytime soon.
Just after 1AM Eastern time on Thursday, reporter Héctor Gómez reported that his entire future could be in doubt. It’s notable, as Gómez is one of the most respected baseball reporters in all the Dominican Republic.
A person very close to the investigations into the case of Wander Franco: "It will be very unlikely that Wander Franco will play in MLB again, judging by the results of the investigations that are currently being carried out, which directly commit him to the accusations against… https://t.co/Yn5CGckJgE
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 17, 2023
Let’s hope the truth is found in what is an incredibly messy, and possibly disturbing, situation.