Wander Franco moved to Restricted List

Franco will no longer received his $2 million salary owed in 2024.

Wander Franco has formally been charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor, among other crimes. According to Diario Libre, just one of the accusations against Franco’s carries a potential 15-20 year prison sentence, and there are multiple accusations.

With the filing of the charges, Wander Franco has finally been moved from Administrative Leave (with pay) to the Restricted List (without pay).

Previously: Wander Franco formally charged by Dominican court

Since the scandal first made headlines last August, Wander Franco has been on a mutually agreed to administrative leave allowing the Rays to remove him from the 40-man roster but also for Franco to receive his full salary while on leave.

The next step in the Wander Franco legal situation is for the judge to review the case brought forth against Franco and determine whether or not it merits a trial; his next court appearance is scheduled for August 14.

Any legal process is bound to take a great deal of time, with the most severe result being jail time for Franco and a loss of his ability to work in the US, and his never playing in the US again.

Penalties could be lighter, but even in the scenario where the case against Franco is dismissed he could still face a punishment from Major League Baseball, as there is precedent to suspend players who were arrested, but had their charges dropped. As with these other cases, MLB will most likely wait until Franco’s legal situation is fully settled to conduct their investigation.

Shortly after the scandal became public knowledge, the Tampa Bay Times compiled a list of players suspended by MLB while on administrative leave and the following are those who were suspended, despite having charges dropped or never filed at all:

OF Marcell Ozuna, Braves, 20 games
Accused of assaulting wife; arrested, charges dropped

LHP Julio Urias, Dodgers, 20 games
Accused of altercation with woman in parking lot; arrested, no charges filed

INF Starlin Castro, Nationals, 30 games
Accused of sexual assault; not charged

INF Addison Russell, Cubs, 40 games
Social media posts from alleging victim claiming abuse

INF Jose Reyes, Rockies, 62 games plus spring
Accused of assaulting wife in Hawaii; arrested, charges dismissed when alleged victim declined to cooperate with the investigation

RHP Roberto Osuna, Blue Jays, 75 games
Accused of assaulting a woman in Toronto; arrested, charge withdrawn

RHP Domingo German, Yankees, 81 games
Accused of assaulting girlfriend; no charges filed

OF Odubel Herrera, Phillies, 85 games
Accused of assaulting girlfriend; arrested, case dismissed

RHP Trevor Bauer, Dodgers, 194 games (reduced from 324)
Accused of sexually assaulting multiple women; no charges filed

If the charges against Franco are dropped, he’ll still have to be able to obtain a visa in order to return to the United States and resume his playing career. According to an article by Ken Rosenthal, this could prove to be very challenging for Franco.

Rosenthal spoke to Javad Khazaeli, a former prosecutor for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Khazaeli states that if Franco is convicted of a crime against a minor, then he’ll received a lifetime ban from the United States.

Khazaeli goes on to state that he believes the only way Franco returns to America is if he is fully exonerated. In that same article, Rosenthal goes on to say that if Franco is unable to return to the Rays, his contract would become void, thus forfeiting the $172M remaining.

Contracts being voided out is a rarity in baseball, but there is precedent for salaries being forfeited due to off the field circumstances. In the past, Ron Gant and Aaron Boone both received hefty salary reductions for injuries sustained in non-baseball activities.

The most similar case to Franco’s would be former pitcher Felipe Vazquez.

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Vazquez to a pontential $41M contact in January 2018, with $22M guarenteed. In 2019, Vazquez was arrest in 2019 for sexually assaulting a minor and eventually sentenced to 2-4 years in prison (he was recently released from prison and subsequently deported out of the country). According to Rosenthal, the Pirates did not pay Vazquez after his arrest, meaning he either forfeited or was denied the $13.5M remaining on his contract.

Prior to his placement on the restricted list in 2023, Franco was hitting .281/.344/.475 with 17 HR and 30 stolen bases, registering 127 wRC+ and 4.6 fWAR over 112 games played and was named an All-Star at age-22.

The 2023 campaign was the second of Franco’s team record $182M contract that could keep him with Tampa Bay for 11 years; Franco is earning $2M in 2024.