Wander Franco Update: Controversial Rays shortstop relieved from monthly check-ins by court amid ongoing investigation

Tampa Bay Rays' former All-Star shortstop Wander Franco was accused of sexually using a 14-year-old minor when he was 21. He allegedly had a relationship with that girl since December 2022 and also paid her mother to keep her quiet about his illegal affair. Currently, he is under investigation in his native country and is expected to be prosecuted soon.

As per Yahoo Sports, on Saturday, the Dominican court relieved Franco from monthly check-ins with the authorities. However, this relief from check-ins won't have any impact on the ongoing investigation of the 23-year-old.

Back in the beginning of this year, Franco had posted $33,000 in bond for his release from jail after being arrested by the authorities for not attending their summons for speaking with the prosecutor. Those bonds have also been retained by the court. The player is expected to be formally charged by the Dominican authorities by next month.

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MLB set to wait for the Dominican Republic's investigation into Wander Franco to play out before starting their own

Major League Baseball is presumably set to wait for the official investigation against Wander Franco to be done before the league starts its own investigation on the shortstop.

MLB and MLBPA came to a decision earlier this year to put the player on administrative leave, at least until June 1. However, during this leave, Franco will still receive his payments from Rays. The club is going to still pay him a $2 million salary this season as part of the $182 million that they signed with him in 2021.

The player's future in MLB is still quite uncertain given the circumstances. If he is found guilty of the charges pressed against him, he won't be receiving any more payments from the team. On the contrary, he might have to return the salary that he is drawing from the club while on administrative leave.

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