Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco watches from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
By Ronald Blum
Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave indefinitely by Major League Baseball on Tuesday while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate the All-Star shortstop for an alleged relationship with a minor.
The 22-year-old will be paid and receive service time while on administrative leave under an agreement with the players' association that did not set a timetable for a decision on whether he will be disciplined.
Franco was placed on the restricted list for a week on Aug. 14 while MLB launched an investigation following social media posts suggesting he was in a relationship with a minor. The AP has not been able to verify the reported posts.
MLB said the shift to administrative leave was not disciplinary under the sport’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. The administrative leave did not have the usual seven-day limit under the policy, so it is possible Franco will not return this season.
Ángel Darío Tejeda Fabal, a prosecutor in the Dominican Republic province of Peravia, said last week an investigation into Franco was open under a division specializing in minors and gender violence.
MLB is likely to wait until that investigation is concluded before deciding whether there will be any discipline, a person familiar with the probe told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that was not announced.
Franco was held out of the Rays' lineup on Aug. 13 in what manager Kevin Cash said was a day off, then missed a six-game West Coast trip while on the restricted list. The Rays issued a statement Tuesday supporting the administrative leave decision.
Franco has salaries of $2 million this season and next as part of a $182 million, 11-year contract that started in 2022.
He is in his third big league season and is hitting .281 with 17 homers, 58 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 40 attempts over 112 games.
Eighteen players have been disciplined by MLB under the domestic violence policy. The latest was New York Yankees pitcher Jimmy Cordero, who agreed on July 5 to a suspension for the final 76 games of the season.
The Winter Olympics showcase our favorite and most picturesque winter sports: from ski jumping, to figure skating, to ice hockey. But don't forget about doubles luge, the internet's favorite Olympic sport. Join us as we explore the history of this intimate display and reveal why doubles luge is so much more than a meme.
Youth sports coaching service MOJO has partnered with Major League Baseball, named the "trusted grassroots coaching app" of the MLB. The app provides content for parents and coaches to help young players grow their skills. Ben Sherwood, founder & CEO of MOJO joined Cheddar News to talk about how his app works to improve coaching to keep players interested. "The number one reason that kids drop out of sports and all of the surveys is that sports aren't fun, and one of the big reasons that sports aren't fun is that the coach doesn't know what she or he is doing," he said. "We think there's a great coach in everyone, and we just have to have the right resources and tools and inspiration."
The U.S. women's hockey team came up short in its highly anticipated game against the Canadian women, favorites for gold, in the preliminaries of the Winter Olympics tournament. The competition now enters the medal rounds where the U.S. team still has a shot.
After a seven-year hiatus, Nissan is returning to the Super Bowl action-packed, star-studded commercial. Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan's Chief Marketing Officer, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the concept of the ad campaign and how it gives clues into where the brand is heading next.
'Pixstory' is an integrity-based social media platform providing a space for healthy dialogue. It was designed to fight misinformation, hate speech, and other forms of toxicity. NBA champion and Pixstory brand ambassador, Dwight Howard, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Chris Spagnuolo, VP of Content, Champion Gaming, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the lessons learned from betting the NFL this season, and how to make money next season.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Sean Green, Co-Founder, of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joins Cheddar Bets to discuss betting on the Big Game, and when to wait it out to buy the lines low.
Sponsored by BetMGM
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
Team USA is still searching for its first gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics that is held amid geopolitical tensions and a global pandemic. Cheddar News speaks with Stephen Cannella, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Sports Illustrated about the highlights and disappointments so far.
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
