Former MLB Star Wander Franco Could Face 5 Years in Prison

Former top prospect in baseball, Wander Franco, could be facing a five-year prison sentence, if the Public Prosecutor's Office has its way. The request came up in his renewed trial in the Dominican Republic on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking.

The new trial follows his 2025 sentence to two years of suspended prison time. He was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and transfering thousands of dollars to the victim's mother. Franco’s attorneys appealed his two-year suspended sentence and pushed to have his sentence overturned.

Franco has been on MLB's restricted list for the past two years, and has not been eligible to receive a dime from his 11-year, $182 million contract since then.

Now 25, the former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old teenager, and the girl's mother is accused of giving her approval in exchange for money and goods. She is also on trial, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual exploitation. The sentence was appealed by both the prosecution and the defense.

Franco was the consensus #1 prospect in all of baseball by major publications, including Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, from 2019 until his major league debut in 2021.

He finished 3rd in balloting for Rookie of the Year in the American League in '21, and was an All-Star in 2023 before he was briefly put on the restricted list for the first time in mid-August of that year, and then put on paid administrative leave.

He was officially placed back on the restricted list by MLB on July 10, 2024, and he no longer receives pay or service time.

The renewed trial in Puerto Plata is ongoing.