Wander Franco ‘facing allegations of inappropriate relationships with TWO teenage girls after a 17-year-old filed a complaint about Rays star in July,’ Dominican media reports claim amid investigation of new allegations
- MLB has launched an investigation into Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Wander Franco
- Franco agreed with the club to be placed on the restricted list on Monday
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Dominican Republic authorities received a complaint in July from a 17-year-old girl who was allegedly in a relationship with Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Wander Franco, a source at the attorney general’s office has revealed.
The source told the Dominican newspaper Journal Libre on the Monday that the minor filed a report on 17 July.
The report also added that it is not the same underage girl whose alleged relationship with 22-year-old Franco went viral on social media on Sunday.
The investigation is led by magistrate Olga Diná, head of the National Directorate of Boys, Girls, Adolescents and Family, and is taking place in Baní, Franco’s hometown.
The age of consent in the Dominican Republic is 18 years.
Sources told El Nuevo Diario newspaper that MLB detectives and officials from the Attorney General’s Office traveled to Franco’s hometown of Baní to investigate the allegations.
Major League Baseball detectives are already in the Dominican Republic investigating viral allegations of Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Wander Franco’s relationship with an underage girl
Major League Baseball detectives are already in the Dominican Republic investigating allegations of the inappropriate relationship.
Franco agreed to be placed on the baseball list on Monday, a day after social media rumors linked him to a minor in his native country.
“We can confirm that we have opened an investigation,” an MLB official told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. “Other than that and what the Rays said yesterday about their agreement with Franco regarding his placement on the Restricted List, we have no other comment at this time.”
The shortstop did not accompany the Rays on their six-game road trip to San Francisco and Anaheim. Tampa Bay defeated the Giants 10–2 in the opener of a three-game set.
Franco’s placement on the restricted list is limited to the road trip, and while the club is not required to cover his salary, a source told ESPN that Tampa Bay will honor his $2 million salary.
The Dominican Republic’s attorney general’s office allegedly received a complaint in July from a 17-year-old allegedly in a relationship with Wander Franco, the newspaper Diario Libre reported.
Rumors of the alleged relationship broke prior to the start of Sunday afternoon’s home game against the Cleveland Guardians. Franco was kept out of the lineup due to halftime, says Rays, according to manager Kevin Cash. He sat in the dugout for the first five innings and then left.
Franco held an Instagram Live session from the clubhouse and denied the reports.
‘They say I’m hanging out with a young girl, that I’m walking around with a minor. How crazy is that, dude? People don’t know what to do with their time. Go and see,” he said in Spanish.
“Those people need to move. One is focused here, doing my thing, you see, thanks to God. That’s why I prefer to be on my side and I don’t interfere with anyone because people gossip so much.’