Wander Franco Wants Back on a Baseball Field. The Dominican Olympic Committee Says No.

Wander Franco hasn't played organized baseball since Aug. 12, 2023. He wants that to change this month.

The former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop is trying to make the Dominican Republic's roster for the Central American and Caribbean Games, set to run July 31 through Aug. 7 in Santo Domingo, according to ESPN's Enrique Rojas. The tournament also includes Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Nicaragua and Curaçao, with the Dominican Republic opening against Puerto Rico.

One problem: Franco wasn't on the preliminary roster submitted by the Dominican delegation, according to Rojas and the Tampa Bay Times. Garibaldy Bautista, president of the Dominican Olympic Committee, says that omission likely disqualifies him outright.

"Simply put, he is not on the long list and cannot be registered on the Dominican team to participate in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games," Bautista told the Tampa Bay Times.

The Dominican Baseball Federation wants him in anyway. Federation president Juan Núñez told ESPN the group will keep pushing but will ultimately defer to the Olympic committee's ruling. The federation put out a statement saying it has been working with the Dominican Olympic Committee to register Franco through the proper platform and remains "hopeful and very confident" of a positive outcome.

The Conviction Behind All This

Franco was convicted in May, for the second time, of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor. He was 21 when the abuse of a 14-year-old girl occurred. A three-judge panel initially convicted him in June 2025 and handed down a suspended two-year sentence. Both sides appealed, triggering a second trial that ended with the same guilty verdict in May 2026.

Despite the conviction, Franco received no additional jail time. The panel concluded he was both a defendant and a victim, finding that the girl's mother had extorted and blackmailed him over the relationship. That mother was sentenced to 10 years in prison for profiting off payments Franco made connected to the relationship, according to the New York Post.

Franco, now 25, has stayed out of professional baseball entirely since his last MLB appearance. Major League Baseball placed him on administrative leave in August 2023 and he's been on the restricted list since July 10, 2024. He was arrested in January 2024. The league has not closed its own investigation.

"We are aware of today's verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time," MLB said in a statement following the May ruling, as reported by BroBible.

The Rays, meanwhile, haven't paid Franco since July 2024. He signed an 11-year, $182 million contract in 2021 and is still owed roughly $160 million on it, according to BroBible.

A Fair Question About the Verdict

Franco's defenders will point out, accurately, that a Dominican court weighed the facts twice and both times found grounds to spare him prison time, concluding he was manipulated and extorted by the victim's mother. A Dominican court reached this judicial finding through deliberation.

But that doesn't erase the underlying conviction. Two separate panels found Franco guilty of sexually and psychologically abusing a minor. The judicial pardon addressed sentencing, not guilt. Those are two different things, and conflating them misrepresents what actually happened in that courtroom.

Hall of Famers Adrian Beltre and Pedro Martinez have both said publicly they'd like to see Franco get another chance, according to BroBible. That's their opinion to hold. It doesn't change the verdict.

What Happens Next

Franco has said he's still training and waiting on "God's decision," according to comments relayed by journalist Hector Gomez. If the Dominican Olympic Committee holds its line, he won't play in Santo Domingo. If MLB eventually rules on his restricted-list status, that decision will determine whether he has any path back to affiliated baseball in the U.S. Until then, his only other realistic outlet, per Yardbarker and ESPN's reporting, would be leagues in Japan or Korea, assuming he can even get cleared to sign there. None of that is settled as of this week.