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Franco finally met with prosecutors Monday,
according to a report from Deportivo, and was placed under
arrest at Puerto Plata, according to the report. Additionally,
Franco is scheduled to go in front of a judge Wednesday where he
allegedly will be arraigned and held without bail.
The 22-year-old was ordered to meet with authorities from the
Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Children and Adolescents on
Thursday in the city of Santo Domingo but never arrived.
Reports Thursday said that Franco had fired his legal team.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic conducted a pair of
searches last week looking for Franco but were unable to find
him, according to the Listin Diario newspaper.
At least two people have filed lawsuits against Franco, and he
is under investigation for an alleged improper relationship with
a third minor, ESPN reported.
The Rays placed Franco on the restricted list Aug. 14 and then
on paid administrative leave on Aug. 22 as MLB launched an
investigation into social media posts indicating Franco was
involved in an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
Franco since was moved to Tampa Bay's active roster, but only
because administrative leave is unavailable during the
offseason. He could be placed back on administrative leave when
spring training begins.
Franco, who was first called up in 2021 as one of the most hyped
prospects in recent years, played a career-high 112 games and
was an All-Star for the first time in 2023. He set career highs
in virtually all statistical categories, including home runs
(17), RBIs (58), steals (30) and runs (65) while batting .281
with a .344 on-base percentage and a .475 slugging percentage.
--Field Level Media
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