Major League Baseball (MLB) has begun investigating social media posts about Wander Franco after the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop did not play in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians.
MLB posted on Sunday evening that it would look into viral posts that allege the 22-year-old star had an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
The Rays lost 9-2 on Sunday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
An article on the MLB website on Sunday night confirmed that the Rays had been in contact with the league.
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“During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco,” the club’s statement said. “We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”
According to MLB, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Franco’s non-appearance was “just a day off.” Franco had started each of the Rays’ previous 20 games and 39 of the last 40.
“I’m aware of the speculation. I’m not going to comment any further on that,” Cash is reported to have said. “But the day off was because [it was] a day off.”
What did the social posts say?
It’s worth noting that while MLB is looking into the social media posts, the claims within them remain unverified.
One widely shared post was thought to have come from a private New York Mets fans Facebook group called “Mets Country” that includes several photos and a brief video.
One of the photos, a screengrab from what appears to be Instagram, makes direct claims about Franco’s relationships.
Although the post came from what is a private Facebook group, it has gone viral on other social media platforms. One post on X, formerly Twitter, made on Sunday received 533,100 views in less than 24 hours. Multiple videos on TikTok based on the Facebook post have attracted millions of views.
What happens now?
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, posting on X on Sunday evening, Franco did not travel on the team plane to San Francisco, ahead of the start of a series with the Giants.
Passan also said MLB had not verified the information from the posts, but Franco had been placed “on the restricted list or administrative leave.”
While MLB has taken the claims from social media seriously, it remains to be seen whether the Rays will take any further action or whether the social media posts and claims attached to them can be verified.
Newsweek has reached out to MLB for further comment.
