Main League Baseball and the MLB Gamers Affiliation have prolonged Wander Franco’s administrative go away till July 14, a procedural measure that seeks to purchase extra time for brand spanking new developments to materialize in a attainable prison case that’s being investigated within the Dominican Republic, in line with studies.
The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop faces accusations of getting a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old woman in his native Dominican Republic, he additionally allegedly paid the teenager’s mom for her consent. He’ll proceed to obtain his $2 million wage whereas is on go away.
Franco’s earlier license was set to run out on June 1. The brand new extension of the license will final till the MLB All-Star Recreation break and could possibly be prolonged to a essential level within the investigation, because the Dominican authorities have a deadline to current their formal accusation in opposition to the participant, the date of July fifth. It’s recalled that the shortstop has not been formally accused in his nation.
A promising profession has gone sideways
Wander Franco, a 23-year-old participant who made his first All-Star workforce final yr and was turning into probably the most thrilling younger gamers within the sport, spent the ultimate six weeks of the 2023 season on administrative go away after being accused of getting sexual relations with a teenage woman when he was 21 years outdated.
Franco was initially charged by Dominican prosecutors with industrial sexual exploitation and cash laundering on January 3, whereas the woman’s mom, who was 14 when the alleged relationship started in December 2022, confronted the identical cost.
Days after a better evaluate of the proof, a decide within the Dominican Republic charged Franco with a lesser cost of sexual and psychological abuse. If convicted, he may face between two and 5 years in jail. MLB launched a separate investigation into Franco that’s not anticipated to conclude till his prison case is resolved.
