Over the past few hours, the Wander Franco file has tumbled quickly. The shortstop was the target of allegations about a relationship with a 14-year-old girl on Twitter.
We knew the Rays were taking it seriously. It was finally without Franco that the club made the trip to San Francisco, as Jeff Passan taught us.
It doesn’t bode well for him, then.
So we learned that MLB has officially launched an investigation into the Tampa Bay player on the subject. And in the meantime, he was placed on the restricted list.
What’s this here restricted list? Basically, it’s a list that means “you’re not suspended, but you can’t play right now while we sort out the situation”.
Franco is therefore absent from the club and the fact that he agreed to go on this list is not an admission of guilt… but let’s say that he is not fighting hard at the moment.
Note that when Trevor Bauer, in 2021, was in trouble for the stories concerning him, he was placed on administrative leave.
The difference between the two? Bauer was paid. And as Jeff Passan says, the odds that Franco isn’t right now are good.
In less than 24 hours, he would therefore have agreed not to be paid and the MLBPA (Players Association) did not slow down the process? Let’s say it doesn’t smell good.
Let the authorities do their job, but clearly, Wander Franco really seems to be in hot water right now.
