As Wander Franco proceedings begin, the Rays remain silent

TAMPA, Fla – Yes, there was zero expectation the Tampa Bay Rays would say anything relative to the ordeal facing shortstop Yander Franco. In fact, silence is pretty much the norm on these things, and the Rays keep their cards close to the vest.

On the day after Franco’s trial in his native Dominican Republic commenced, the curtain of silence was lowered. Franco faces multiple accusations and, if convicted, could spend the next three decades behind bars.

At the core, Franco is charged with sexually abusing a minor (at 14 years old at the time), sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking. Additionally, the prosecution charges Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos, or $17,000 to the mother of the minor. The mother of the minor was also charged with money laundering and, in the past, was under house arrest.

The proceedings, expected to last several months, began June 2 in the northern province of Puerto Plata in Franco’s native Dominican Republic.

All of which put the Rays in a precarious position, and the expected response.

“I’m not going to comment on anything or anything going on with that, whatsoever,” said Rays’ field manager Kevin Cash prior to Tuesday night’s game with the Texas Rangers. “I’m going to focus on these 26 guys in our clubhouse and the 15 others (the 40-man roster) who can help us.”

At the time of his arrest in August 2023, Franco was regarded as the Rays’ future face of the franchise. Coming off the 2021 season, in which he hit .288 in 70 games (seven home runs, 39 RBIs), the Rays reached out with a monster deal. On Nov. 23, 2021, Franco agreed to an 11-year, $182 million deal and an option for the 2033 season.

Franco responded with a .281 season in 83 games, but his playing time was limited due to strained quadriceps and hand surgery. Then, his career and life spiraled dramatically out of control.

In August, two years ago, the charges against Franco were formalized and delivered. Immediately, Franco was placed on MLB’s restrictive list and where he currently remains. In addition to the charges pending from his contact with the minor, he was also arrested last Nov. 10. That followed an altercation that involved guns that were drawn.

All of which put in motion a fairly safe observation that Franco has played his last game for Tampa Bay and likely for any team at the Major League level.

To assure some continuity at the shortstop position, the Rays signed veteran shortstop Ha-Seong Kim to a 2-year, $29 million deal. During four seasons at San Diego, Kim batted .242 with 47 homers and 200 RBIs in 540 games. Previously, he spent seven seasons in Korea with a .294 batting average (133 homers, 575 RBIs).

While Kim recovers from surgery to repair a small tear in the labrum in his right shoulder, veteran Taylor Walls received the most time at shortstop this season. Walls appeared in 51 of the Rays’ first 60 games.

With his rehab program accelerating, Kim is scheduled to play second base on June 3, and his first day at shortstop is slated for June 5. “All subject to see how he feels,” cautioned Cash.  Assuming Kim moves into the lineup over the coming days, he is locked in at shortstop for the remainder of this season and the 2026 season.

On the diamond … Rays’ right-hander Drew Rasmussen continued his command over the opposition with a 5-1 victory before 9,131 in Steinbrenner Field on June 3. Gaining his fifth win (5-4, 2.12 ERA after 12 starts) with a dominating effort over the Rangers, the 29-year-old allowed only one base runner over five stellar innings of work. That was an infield single from Jake Burger to lead off the third inning. He extended his scoreless streak to 23.0 innings and the longest streak by any starting pitcher in the majors this season. In reaching a season-high in strikeouts with eight, Rasmussen recorded four straight Ks over 1.3 innings, and all were caught looking. “To be able to give us a chance to win is a blessing,” he said. “This gets back to being aggressive in the zone and strikes early in the count.” Solo shots from Kameron Misner in the third and Junior Caminero in the seventh were sandwiched between a three-spot in the sixth, and that powered the win.  Tampa moved to two games over. 500 after 60 games. Over the previous 11 games, the pitching staff allowed three earned runs or fewer in those 11 games. That’s the second-longest streak behind a 12-game run from Aug. 4-16, 2014.

The post As Wander Franco proceedings begin, the Rays remain silent first appeared on Through The Fence Baseball.

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