Wander Franco

Wander Samuel Franco Aybar (born March 1, 2001), nicknamed "El Patron", is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) and a convicted sex offender. He made his MLB debut in 2021 and was an All-Star in 2023.

Franco has not played baseball since August 2023, when he was placed on administrative leave due to an investigation into allegations of relationships with underage girls in the Dominican Republic. Franco was charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor in the Dominican Republic in 2024. In 2025, Franco was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of two years in prison.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Franco was ranked as one of the top international prospects in the 2017 international class. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization on July 2, 2017, for a signing bonus of $3.85 million. Franco made his professional debut in 2018 with the Princeton Rays. On July 14, 2018, Franco hit for the cycle while playing for Princeton. In 2018, at 17 years old, Franco was named the 2018 Appalachian League Player of the Year after hitting .374/.445/.636 with 11 home runs and 57 runs batted in (RBIs) over 245 plate appearances for the Princeton Rays.

Prior to the 2019 season, Franco was ranked as the fourth best prospect in baseball by ''Baseball America''. He began the season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods. He was promoted to the Charlotte Stone Crabs on June 25. Franco was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. He finished the 2019 season with a .327/.398/.487 slash line with nine home runs and 53 RBIs.

Prior to the 2020 season, Franco was ranked the 1 prospect in all of baseball. On September 22, the Rays added Franco to their pool of players who would be eligible to play in the Major League Baseball postseason. Franco did not appear in an MLB game, and did not play in any minor league contests due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he played in the Dominican Winter League in the 2020-21 offseason with Leones del Escogido, batting .350/.435/.500 in 23 at-bats.

The Rays invited Franco to major league spring training in 2021, but he did not make the team, and began the season in Triple-A with the Durham Bulls. In 39 games with Durham, Franco logged a .315/.367/.586 slash line with seven home runs and 35 RBIs.

Tampa Bay Rays

2021 season

On June 20, 2021, the Rays announced that Franco would be promoted to the major leagues, prior to the team’s series against the Boston Red Sox. He was formally selected to the 40-man roster on June 22. Franco made his MLB debut the same day. In the game, Franco recorded his first career hit, home run, and RBI on a three-run shot off of Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodríguez in the fifth inning. At 20 years and 113 days old, Franco was the second-youngest player (after B. J. Upton) to debut for the Rays franchise.

On August 25, Franco reached base safely for the 26th consecutive game, setting a record for the longest run by a player under 21 years old since 1961. On September 7, Franco reached base safely for the 37th consecutive time passing Mickey Mantle’s 36 game on base streak for a player 20-years old or younger. Franco's streak ended at 43 consecutive games on September 30, 2021, leaving him tied with Frank Robinson.

On November 23, 2021, Franco and the Rays agreed to an eleven-year, $182 million contract extension, with a club option of $25 million for a twelfth year. At age 20, Franco became the youngest player in baseball history to sign a contract worth at least $100 million, passing Ronald Acuña Jr.'s eight-year, $100 million contract extension signed in 2019. Franco's deal was the largest for any player with less than one year of major league service.

2022 season

On April 22, 2022, Franco had his first multi home run game against the Boston Red Sox. Franco became the youngest player in Tampa Bay Rays franchise history to have a multi homer game, doing so at age 21 and 52 days old.

On May 31, Franco was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strained quadriceps. He was activated on June 26. On July 9, Franco was placed on the 10-day injured list. Two days later, it was announced Franco would miss five to eight weeks due to hand surgery. On September 9, he was activated off the injured list.

2023 season

On July 4, 2023, Franco was selected to his first All-Star game as the roster replacement for Aaron Judge, who was injured.

Franco was placed on the Rays' restricted list on August 13, as MLB and a specialized Minor and Gender Violence Division based in Peravia began investigations into an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was then placed on indefinite administrative leave by Major League Baseball. The league stated the administrative leave "is not disciplinary under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy" according to MLB.

Franco was reinstated to the 40-man roster by the Rays following the conclusion of the 2023 season, as administrative leave is only available in-season. After he was formally charged in July 2024, the Rays requested that he be placed back on the restricted list for failure to report. The terms of his bail theoretically allowed him to leave the Dominican Republic provided he returned to check in with authorities monthly, but immigration experts told ''The Athletic'' that it would have been all but impossible for him to enter the United States while the trial was underway. He has remained on the restricted list ever since, and is thus not eligible for pay or accrued service time. He was convicted in June 2025. The nature of the charges will make it prohibitively difficult for Franco to obtain an American work visa; he will remain on MLB's restricted list unless he can secure a visa. MLB's own investigation into Franco is still underway, and he could still be disciplined under MLB's domestic violence policy. Earlier, immigration experts told ''The Athletic'' that Franco would have had to be fully exonerated to have any realistic chance of getting a visa, and could have faced a permanent ban from ever entering the United States again if convicted on the most serious charges.

International career

Franco represented the Dominican Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. With Willy Adames and Jeremy Peña at shortstop, he instead played second base, splitting time with Ketel Marte. Over the course of nine at-bats in three games, Franco hit .222/.417/.222, leading the team in walks (along with Juan Soto) with three.

Personal life

Franco is the son of Wander Franco and Nancy Aybar, both from Baní, Dominican Republic. His father played minor league ball in the 1990s. His mother is the sister of Erick Aybar and Willy Aybar, both of whom played in Major League Baseball. His brothers, Wander Alexander Franco and Wander Javier Franco, played in the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants organizations.

Franco married his girlfriend after the 2021 MLB season. The pair have a son, Wander Samuel Franco Jr., born in late 2018, and have another son, born in 2022.

On July 9, 2024, Franco was charged in the Dominican Republic with sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, and human trafficking. On November 10, while awaiting trial, Franco was arrested again in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in which guns were drawn. On June 26, 2025, Franco was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of two years in prison.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Wander
2001 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Baní
Bowling Green Hot Rods players
Charlotte Stone Crabs players
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Durham Bulls players
Florida Complex League Rays players
Gigantes del Cibao players
Leones del Escogido players
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
Major League Baseball shortstops
Major League Baseball third basemen
Princeton Rays players
Tampa Bay Rays players
World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic
21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen
2023 World Baseball Classic players