By Marc Topkin
Tampa Bay Times
Could Wander Franco be back on a baseball field this month?
An official with Escogido of the Dominican Republic said the team has had conversations with the shortstop about playing in the winter-league season that starts on Oct. 19.
Franco has been prohibited from playing for the Rays since mid-August when he was placed on the restricted list by mutual decision and then administrative leave by Major League Baseball after social media posts alleged an inappropriate relationship with a minor. He is currently under investigation by MLB, as well as authorities in his native Dominican Republic.
Franco’s status with MLB does not prohibit him from playing in the Dominican winter league.
Angel Santana, special assistant in Escogido’s baseball operations department, said in an interview on the ClubOnce11 virtual space that Franco was “welcome” to join the Leones any time, ESPN’s Dominican site reported.
“He can play [with us] and you cannot prohibit a Dominican citizen from working,” Santana said, according to Google Translate. “We have had conversations, but he is still in the United States. Our intention is for him to play. Everything depends on his process and him, and we don’t handle that part.”
It was not clear from the report if the opportunity is pending resolution of the investigation. According to ESPN’s Juan Arturo Recio, Santana said the team “hopes that [Franco] can emerge well from his judicial process.”
“We wish him luck, as soon as possible, and that he comes here to take the [at-bats] he missed in the major leagues,” Santana said.
NOTES
• Catcher Francisco Mejia, who finished the season on the Rays’ Triple-A Durham roster after being designated for assignment in August and passed through waivers unclaimed, chose to become a minor-league free agent.
• The hugely popular Savannah Bananas touring baseball team will start its 2024 season Feb. 8-10 at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field.
