Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was arrested Monday in the Dominican Republic after he did not show up to his meeting with the prosecutor investigating him for an alleged relationship between him and a minor, according to reports from ESPN.
Franco was scheduled to attend the meeting on Thursday, Dec. 28. Prosecutor Olga Diná Llaverías said the investigation would continue regardless of Franco's no-show.
Juan Arturo Recio, a writer at ESPN, said the reason for Franco's arrest is solely because he did not appear at the summons made to him by Diná Llaverías and not because there has been any type of progress in the investigation.
Franco will be presented before a judge within 48 hours of his arrest, which means that he will have to appear in court no later than Wednesday, Jan. 3.
ABC Action News sports anchor/reporter Kyle Burger reached out to the Rays for a statement on Franco's arrest, but the team had no comment.
The Dominican Republic's prosecutor's office said on Aug. 14 that Franco was under investigation because of social media posts suggesting he had a relationship with a minor.
MLB launched an investigation that same day as Franco agreed to go on the restricted list, removing him from the Rays roster.
Franco was then moved to administrative leave by the league eight days later under its joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy with the players' association.
In December, he received a bonus from the MLB of over $700,000 as part of the league's pre-arbitration bonus pool despite being on administrative leave. Franco continued to receive his $2 million salary as well.
Franco also has a $2 million salary next season as part of a $182 million, 11-year contract he signed in November of 2021. If he is suspended due to the MLB's investigation, he will not be paid for the entirety of that ban.
Both the MLB's and the Dominican Republic's investigations are ongoing.
