Wander Franco breaks silence with cryptic message five weeks ahead of rescheduled trial in Dominican Republic

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, Wander Franco, reemerged from the depths of silence only to share a cryptic message five weeks ahead of his rescheduled trial in the Dominican Republic. He faces multiple charges, which involve human trafficking, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and sexually abusing a minor in his home country.

Franco was having an incredible season in 2023. But soon after his maiden appearance in the All-Star game, the Dominican authorities opened up an investigation into his alleged relations with a then 14-year-old minor, and paying up her mother handsomely to seek consent for the abuse.

After a year into the investigation, Judge Pascual Valenzuela of the Puerto Plata province announced a ruling in favor of the prosecutors, stating that the evidence produced before the court made a strong case against Wander Franco and the case was worthy of moving to trial. The trial was scheduled to begin on December 12, 2024, but was rescheduled to June 2, 2025.

With just five weeks left before the trial begins in the Dominican Republic, Franco re-emerged on social media by sharing a mysterious message on his story.

Take a look at the image here, captioned as:

"A ti : No hay tormento que Dios no pueda sanar ⏳ "

Translated to English as:

"To you: There is no storm that God cannot heal ⏳ "

Wander Franco's current status in the MLB

The TB Rays placed Wander Franco on the restricted list on August 13, 2023, soon after MLB and a minor and gender violence division in his home country began investigating his alleged relationship with a minor, which possibly began in December 2022.

The MLB later clarified that the administrative leave was not disciplinary under the league's Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. He was subsequently reinstated to the Rays' 40-man roster after the 2023 season, as the administrative leave by rules and procedures of the league is only available during the season.

Despite getting named on the 40-man roster, Franco was again put on the restricted list for the 2024 and 2025 MLB seasons. The 24-year-old Dominican's future in the big league depends on the crucial trial, which begins on June 2. If proven guilty of the charges, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

About the author

Karan has been a baseball sports betting expert, analyst and content strategist at Sportskeeda since 2022. He holds a Master's degree in Sports Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, and worked with the VCU Rams baseball team as a trackman analyst. He started following the sport at 18, watching postseason on television.

Karan is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers owing to their successful history in the sport, and their consistent performances at the highest level. He admires Mookie Betts’ on-field defensive and offensive prowess, along with his off-field charitable exploits, while Bruce Bochy is his favorite coach.

The Mets’ miraculous rally from a two-run deficit in the 1986 World Series Game 6 in the bottom of the 10th inning despite being two outs and two strikes down is his all-time favorite baseball moment.

Karan’s strengths are player profiling and technical deep dives, for which he always refers to reliable sources such as the social media handles of the best MLB analysts.

When not strategizing, he likes to read, listen to music, go for a run, and watch sit-coms.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra