Wander Franco headed back to court as prosecutors appeal lack of penalty

Marc Topkin and Juan Carlos Chavez, Tampa Bay Times on Jul 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — There was talk last week about Wander Franco getting back on the field, as the Dominican baseball federation was seeking to add the TampaBay Rays shortstop to its roster for the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games, though that seems unlikely due to eligibility issues.

Monday, there was news that Franco, 25, is headed back to the courtroom for another chapter in his ongoing legal saga. In two separate trials, in 2025 and earlier this year, he was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor.

Prosecutors filed an appeal related to the latest verdict, in which Franco in May was found guilty but received no punishment through a judicial pardon. The judges said they considered Franco “a material victim,” given that he had been extorted and blackmailed by the girl’s mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role.

Monday, per Dominican newspaper Diario Libre, prosecutors argued that the judicial pardon “does not apply” for a “serious case of child abuse.”

Prosecutors had been seeking a five-year prison term for Franco. That was also their goal for the first trial, which wrapped up in June 2025, but Franco instead was given a two-year suspended sentence, which is similar to probation.

Prosecutors did not appeal the mother’s prison sentence, Diario Libre reported.

Franco’s lawyers also could appeal the most recent verdict, which could lead to a third trial, though they have not declared their intentions.

Attorney Teodosio Jaquez Encarnacion told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday he could not comment on the latest development.

“We have not received the appeal yet. For now, all we have seen are media headlines. Before I can comment, I need to review the appeal,” he said.

“But here, as everywhere else, prosecutors’ job is to bring charges. Unfortunately for them, they have not been able to prove the allegations, and they will not be able to do so.”

Encarnacion did make it sound like the legal battle is not over.

“They have been exercising the rights available to them under the law, and we will do the same,” he said. “Their job is to prosecute the case and seek a conviction. Ours is, and will continue to be, to defend our client and keep him from being convicted.”

The charges stem from a relationship Franco, 21 at the time, had with a then-14-year-old girl that started in December 2022 and continued until February 2023.

Franco has not played for the Rays since August 2023 or been paid since July 2024, though he is still owed about $160 million on a long-term deal signed in 2021.

His chances of returning to the majors seem low, given that a guilty verdict for what is considered a crime of moral turpitude makes it unlikely he could get approved for the necessary visa to work in the United States.

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