MLB Puts Rays Franco on Administrative Leave – Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball on Tuesday amid numerous investigations into alleged relationships he had with underage girls in his native Dominican Republic.
Franco, 22 years old, who was forced out the past week after the Rays placed him on the restricted list, is being investigated by Dominican police, as well as MLB’s department of investigations. While no charges have been filed against Franco as of yet, a prosecutor last week said a division specializing in minors and gender violence is spearheading the police investigation.
“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 Tuesday.
The designation of administrative leave is a significant but expected step. Administrative leave removes a player from a team’s roster during an ongoing investigation into a potential violation of the sport’s domestic violence policy. While a player can challenge administrative leave, MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to place Franco on it “until further notice,” a period expected to last beyond the standard initial seven-day placement.
“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.”
MLB launched its investigation into Franco within mere hours of social media messages circulating on August 13 that alluded to Franco’s relationship with a girl under the age of consent, which is 18 in the Dominican Republic. A prosecutor in the province of Peravia, where Franco’s hometown of Bani is the capital, told The Associated Press last week that an investigation with “a minor involved” is in its infancy stages and will be led by Olga Dina Llaverias, a prosecutor who specializes in child abuse cases. Diario Libre, a Dominican newspaper, had reported that a 17-year-old girl filed a complaint with the attorney general against Franco in July.
The social media outbreak on August13, prompted the Rays to take immediate action, keeping Franco from joining the team in San Francisco, where it was scheduled to play the next day. Tampa Bay and Franco agreed for him to spend the next week on the restricted list, but with a home series starting Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies, the use of administrative leave rather than an extension of his restricted-list stay was widely expected.
If Franco were to challenge the administrative leave, during which he will be paid and accrue service time, 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.
The MLBPA and Franco’s attorney, Jay Reisinger, declined comment.
Franco, who is in the second year of an 11-year, $182 million deal, was in the middle of an All-Star campaign, batting .281/.344/.475 with 17 home runs and 30 stolen bases, and he was selected to his first mid-summer classic.
And…
Nationals Manager Martinez Agrees to Extension – Martinez will remain in the nation’s capital. Washington Nationals skipper Dave Martinez has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the club he led to the 2019 World Series championship.
The Nationals announced the deal Tuesday but did not make terms public. Several media outlets reported that Martinez will sign a two-year extension through the 2025 season.
“Dave Martinez represents the Washington Nationals organization with class on and off the field, and we are thrilled that he will continue to serve as manager,” Nationals owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “We are especially proud of the way the club has played since the end of June, and the team’s play is a direct reflection of Davey’s leadership. He is determined, passionate and the right person to lead our current group of players as well as the next wave of talent coming to Washington, D.C.”
Details of Martinez’s new deal were first reported by The Athletic, which also reported that longtime general manager Mike Rizzo is close to an extension as well.
The existing contracts for both Martinez and Rizzo are set to expire at the conclusion of this season, part of the uncertainty around a team that is in the middle of a rebuilding effort on the field and has been for sale off it.
Martinez’s record with the Nationals’ entering Tuesday is 378-455, a .454 winning percentage.
The former major league player took over as manager of the Nationals in 2018, his first job leading a team. The next year, Washington got off to a cold start, 19-31, twelve games below .500, before stars such as Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner helped the team surge to a NL wild-card berth. The Nationals eventually defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series for the franchise’s inaugural title.
Since then, the water has been choppy for the Nationals to say the least.
Washington has finished with a losing record and at the bottom of the NL East every year. Even with a recent hot streak, the club was 57-68 and in last place heading into Tuesday’s series opener against the equally struggling New York Yankees.
That is a result of Rizzo’s attempt to revamp the roster, a work in progress that began in earnest with a swap that shipped Scherzer and Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2021 trade deadline and netted two key corner stones in return: 2023 All-Star pitcher Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz.
There was more on the horizon, including sending Soto to the San Diego Padres for a package that included current starting shortstop CJ Abrams.
