Wander Franco’s career reportedly may be over.
A source close to the investigation of Franco’s alleged inappropriate relationships with underage women told Z101 Digital reporter Héctor Gómez that the Rays shortstop is “very unlikely” to play in Major League Baseball again.
“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 him,’” Gómez wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Gómez, a Dominican reporter, broke the news of Franco’s 12-year, $223 million extension with the Rays in 2021.
Franco, a 22-year-old All-Star shortstop this season, has been away from the Rays since Sunday as MLB and officials in the Dominican Republic investigate claims made in since-deleted social media posts alleging he was involved in a relationship with a minor in the Dominican.
On Tuesday, Franco was linked to a second relationship with an underage girl, per the Dominican newspaper Diario Libre, which cited a source in the country’s attorney general office claiming a 17-year-old girl filed a complaint against Franco in July.
Franco appeared to deny the allegations Sunday when he posted a video on Instagram Live.
“They say that I’m in public with a little girl, that I’m running around with a minor,” Franco said in Spanish in the social media video on Instagram Live, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “People don’t know what to do with their time. They don’t know what they’re talking about.
“That’s why I prefer to be on my side and not get involved with anybody.”
Franco, a former No. 1 overall prospect, has been one of the best players in MLB this season, posting an .819 OPS with 17 homers and 30 stolen bases, tying him for the eighth-best Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs.
The Rays (73-50), trailing the Orioles by two games in the AL East and owns the AL’s first wild card spot.
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