Rays' Wander Franco headed back to court to appeal latest guilty verdict

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Sep 3, 2026

Published in Baseball

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Wander Franco will have his next day in court on Tuesday.

Both Franco and the prosecutors filed appeals after he was found guilty in May for the second time in the Dominican Republic for sexual abuse of a minor, though Franco was spared punishment by a judicial pardon.

The Court of Appeal in Puerto Plata will hear the appeals from both sides starting Tuesday, but it could take several months for a ruling.

The charges stem from a relationship Franco, 21 at the time, had with a then-14-year-old girl from December 2022 to February 2023.

Franco, now 25, has not played for the Rays since August 2023, when word of the relationship surfaced publicly, and he is currently on Major League Baseball’s restricted list. The 2023 All-Star and one-time top prospect in the game has not been paid since charges were filed in July 2024, though he is still owed about $150 million on a long-term deal signed after his 2021 rookie season.

Franco’s side claims that the evidence presented during the trial was insufficient to lead to a guilty verdict. Getting that overturned is somewhat essential for him to ever play again in the majors. With a conviction for what is considered a crime of moral turpitude, it would be unlikely he could get approved for the necessary visa to work in the United States.

Prosecutors are challenging the decision by the three-judge panel to not impose any punishment for Franco. The panel said Franco also was “a material victim” in the case given that he had been extorted and blackmailed by the girl’s mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In the first trial that ended in June 2025, Franco was found guilty of the same charge and received a two-year suspended sentence, which is similar to probation.

Both sides appealed then, with Franco’s side also questioning the validity of the evidence and prosecutors wanting a five-year prison sentence. The appeals court ordered a new trial.