The Tampa Bay Rays announced on Monday that Wander Franco will be on the restricted list and take a leave from the present road trip due to a series of social media posts involving the 22-year old shortstop.
An MLB official has come out to say that Major League Baseball is currenty investigating the issue.
The social media posts being discussed came up on Sunda, and Tampa released a statement after their game against the Cleveland Guardians.
“During today’s game, we were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco,” the Rays said. “We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence.”
Tampa Bay did not go into specifics about the said posts. The Rays manager Kevin Cash also declined to comment further on it after the team lost 9-2 to Cleveland on Sunday, too, instead he said he was “aware’’ of the posts. Franco was not in the Ray’s lineup Sunday.
“I’m aware of the speculation,” Cash said, via ABC’s Kyle Burger. “I’m not going to comment any further on that. The day off was because of a [scheduled] day off.”
Wander Franco is in his third season with the Rays. He got his first All-Star nod this season, and is averaging . 281 at the plate with 17 home runs and 58 RBI. He hit the first walk-off of his career to life Tampa past the Guardians on Friday night.
Sunday’s loss to Cleveland concluded the three-game series in St. Petersburg. The Rays signed Franco to an 11-year $182 million deal in 2021.
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