Major League Baseball has placed Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave on Tuesday amid multiple investigations into alleged relationships Frano had with underage girls in his native Dominican Republic, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Franco, 22, has missed the last week following the Rays organization placing him on the restricted list. Franco is being investigated by Dominican police, as well as MLB’s department of investigations, however no charges have been filed against Franco at this time.
“The administrative leave, effective immediately, is not disciplinary under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. We will comment further at the appropriate time,” MLB said in a statement.
“We support Major League Baseball’s decision to place Wander Franco on Administration Leave,” the Rays said in a statement. “The Tampa Bay Rays are dedicated to upholding high standards of integrity both on and off the field. We appreciate the understanding and patience of our fans and supporters as this process unfolds. We will have no further statements on this matter until MLB completes its process.”
Franco can challenge the administrative leave, which means that during which he will be paid as well as accrue service time, and the case would go to a neutral arbitrator who would decide whether there is “credible information” to support the allegations against him or if Franco rejoining the Rays would “cause significant disruption” to the team.
