Wander Franco Cut By Dominican Winter League Team Months After Court Found Him Criminally Responsible For Abusing A Minor

Wander Franco's path back to professional baseball just got narrower.

Leones del Escogido, Franco's Dominican Winter League club, announced Saturday it released the former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop along with three other players, according to a translated report from Hoy. The team called it part of a standard roster evaluation and reserve-reduction process ahead of the league's draft.

Escogido general manager Carlos Pena framed the move as purely operational. "As part of the evaluation and reserve reduction process that is done in a regulated manner before the draft, we have made the decision to release Gerlin Rosario, Wander Franco, William Lugo, and Bryan Gonzalez," Pena said, according to Listin Diario. "It's an operational decision that responds to the team's needs and our sporting plan for next season. We wish them all the best in their next steps."

Pena didn't cite Franco's legal situation as a factor. Given Franco's talent level relative to the other three players released, that explanation alone doesn't fully account for the decision, though no source has offered documented evidence contradicting Pena's stated reasoning.

How Franco Got Here

Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays in November 2021, one of the largest deals in franchise history for a player who had just turned 20. He last played in a major-league game in August 2023.

He was arrested in January 2024 on charges including sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, human trafficking and illegal possession of a gun, according to CBS Sports. The gun charge stemmed from a November 10 altercation in which police found a firearm in his vehicle. Franco went on Major League Baseball's restricted list, meaning the Rays owed him no salary and he accrued no service time while his case worked through Dominican courts.

His trial was delayed multiple times, including a postponement from December 12 to June 2 after a judge ruled key witnesses could not be located in time, per ESPN's Juan Recio.

This May, Dominican judge José Antonio Núñez delivered a ruling that even he acknowledged was contradictory. Núñez declared Franco criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor and imposed a suspended two-year prison sentence, but granted him a judicial pardon that spared him from serving any time, according to ESPN News Services. The judge determined Franco was also a victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor's mother, who was sentenced to jail.

"It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and, at the same time, exempt him from punishment," Núñez said in the ruling. "The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one."

A Dominican court found there was an extortion scheme against Franco running alongside the abuse and structured its sentence around that finding rather than simply treating him as a straightforward offender. Whether that justifies avoiding prison while the girl's mother goes to jail remains an open question that the ruling doesn't fully resolve, and Núñez said as much himself.

What the ruling did not do is clear Franco of criminal responsibility. He was found guilty. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that a guilty finding makes it difficult for Franco to obtain a U.S. work visa, which would be required to resume his career with the Rays or any other MLB team. Passan and CBS Sports both note it remains unlikely Franco ever plays in the majors again.

What's Still Open

MLB's own investigation under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy remains active, according to CBS Sports, separate from the Dominican court process. No discipline from the league has been announced.

Franco still has conditions to meet under the suspended sentence, primarily a requirement that he not approach minors with sexual intentions, per CBS Sports. It's unclear whether any Dominican Winter League team will sign him before this winter's draft, or whether the Escogido release effectively ends his options in that league for the season. MLB has not said when, or if, its investigation will conclude with a formal ruling on Franco's status.