Rays’ Wander Franco arrested in DR for incident ‘in which weapons were drawn’

Police in the Dominican Republic arrested disgraced Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco today (November 11) after an altercation in which guns were drawn.

A report from ESPN confirmed that authorities in the Dominican Republic questioned the 23-year-old baseball player and an unnamed woman in the parking lot of an apartment complex about an altercation the previous day “in which weapons were drawn.” Meregirdo Espinosa, a DR police spokesman, said one of the weapons probably belonged to Franco, who was allegedly fighting with another man for the woman’s attention.

MLB placed Franco on indefinite leave of absence in August 2023 after he was arrested in connection with the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl. Under his bail agreement, Franco is not allowed to leave the Dominican Republic but can travel within the country while he awaits trial in December. Franco faces up to 20 years in prison for sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of minors and human trafficking.

Franco, who signed an 11-year, $182 million contract extension with the Rays in November 2021, was just 70 games into his major league career and was selected to the All-Star Game when he was released because of the allegations was arrested for sexual abuse. He had a BA of .282 with 30 HRs, 130 RBIs and 40 swiped bags in 265 games in just two seasons. He was placed on Major League Baseball’s restricted list back in July. He is also under MLB investigation under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policies until the case is resolved.