Jun 11, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (5) celebrates after hitting a three run home run against the Texas Rangers in the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays
(New York, NY) – Until we learn more, All-Star shortstop Wander Franco serves as a cautionary tale about falling from grace.
The 22-year-old is considered one of the best young players in all of Major League Baseball – but some reports have gone so far as to say he’ll never play in the big leagues ever again, as allegations of inappropriate relationships with underage girls are being investigated.
MLB officials are looking into the situation, after claims of misconduct first emerged on social media.
As of August 14, Franco was on the restricted list – placed there by his club, the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, MLB has placed him on administrative leave. The allegations are coming out of the Dominican Republic, where Franco was born and raised.
ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan recently penned a comprehensive piece that attempts to make sense of the situation – and look forward as to what could come next.
First and foremost, administrative leave is looked at as a “significant” step on behalf of MLB. It means Franco is no longer on Tampa Bay’s roster, and the player’s union (MLBPA) has the ability to extend the leave indefinitely.
Because he’s now on administrative leave, it indicates Franco’s alleged misconduct is being probed under the league’s collectively bargained domestic violence policy. If Franco is on administrative leave for 14 days, both MLB and the player’s union would have to agree on an extension.
Franco has the right to challenge his being placed on administrative leave. As for the allegations against him, they involve two separate women who are under the age of 14. And in the Dominican Republic, the age of consent is 18 – with little wiggle room – which is a bit different from the US. Various states have laws placing the age of consent at either 16 or 17, with some “Romeo and Juliet” exceptions — meaning if the older individual is “close” in age, it may not be illegal.
As for precedent within the MLB, Passan lists two prominent cases that either fell under the joint policy concerning alleged domestic violence or similar incidents.
Trevor Bauer, accused by a woman of sexual abuse, was eventually suspended to 194 games. That was reduced from a record suspension of 324 games after Bauer appealed. He’s currently pitching in Japan.
Meanwhile, former Pirates reliever Felipe Vazquez was convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl he’d met on social media, and was subsequently sentenced to between two and four years in prison. Perhaps because of his lengthy sentence (and strong likelihood he won’t pitch again for any MLB team), Vazquez was not punished by MLB in response.
