John Romano: Wander Franco's ongoing legal issues mirror the undoing of the Rays

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — In retrospect, it isn’t entirely his fault. Sometimes, it just feels that way.

For instance, the hurricanes, elbow injuries and political discord? He had nothing to do with any of that.

But the trades, the remaking of the roster, the struggle to stay above .500?

Oh yeah, that’s all part of the Wander Franco fallout.

It’s been nearly two years since he departed, and Franco’s legal issues may finally be nearing resolution as his trial for an inappropriate relationship with a minor began Monday in the Dominican Republic.

But, no matter what a court decides in a tiny island nation 1,000 miles away, the repercussions will continue for the Rays.

Step back and think about how the world has changed for Tampa Bay’s ballclub from this moment two years ago. The Rays began that June with a ridiculous 40-18 record, they were sitting in first place in the American League East, and they were heavy favorites for their second World Series appearance in four years.

And yet, from the moment the Franco news broke that August, the Rays have gone 137-125, got swept from the 2023 playoffs and had their streak of five consecutive postseason appearances snapped in 2024. Not to mention the destruction of Tropicana Field’s roof, the collapse of a new stadium deal and the growing calls for Stuart Sternberg to sell the team.

Maybe it sounds overly dramatic to pin all that — at least the on-field portion — on the back of the then-22-year-old shortstop, but it’s hard not to view it otherwise.

You could start with the obvious.

Taking Franco out of Tampa Bay’s lineup is like yanking Bobby Witt Jr. off the field for the Royals. And that is not remotely a stretch.

Franco was Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect in 2021; Witt was No. 3 in 2022. Franco debuted in the majors as a 20 year old in the summer of 2021. Witt made it to Kansas City as a 21 year old in early 2022.

In the first 265 games of his major-league career — which is the entirety of his career at this point — Franco had more hits, more walks and fewer strikeouts than Witt in the same number of games. Franco had a .282/.340/.454 slash line compared to Witt’s .261/.302/.451. On the day he was pulled out of the lineup in 2023, Franco was second among AL shortstops in outs-above-average defensively. Witt was first.

So it’s not outlandish to presume a similar trajectory for Franco compared to Witt, who is now one of the top dozen players in the game.

That’s just the starting point.

There’s also been the expense of trying to replace Franco at shortstop. The Rays traded Luke Raley, who went on to hit 22 homers for Seattle last season, to bring in shortstop Jose Caballero before the 2024 season. Then, this offseason, the Rays signed shortstop Ha-Seong Kim to a two-year, $29 million contract, which is more money than they had ever spent on a free-agent position player in the Sternberg era.

And it doesn’t end there.

The Rays typically take a broader view of the game, as opposed to a season-by-season approach. They take stock of their player/economic inventory and plan across multiple seasons.

In 2023, with Franco signed through the next decade, with Shane McClanahan, Tyler Glasnow and Zach Eflin at the top of the rotation, with Josh Lowe, Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena all in their 20s, the Rays appeared to have a two- to three-year peak period ahead.

Instead, after Franco was suspended and McClanahan blew out his elbow, the team reevaluated. And eventually readjusted their clock.

Glasnow was traded for younger players. Arozarena and Eflin were traded for prospects. Paredes was traded for younger players.

The Rays did not become a rebuilding team, but they became a different team.

After getting swept by the Rangers in the first round of those 2023 playoffs, the Rays had their first losing season in seven years in 2024 and have struggled to get back into contention this season. Their recent six-game winning streak was their longest since this week in 2023.

On top of all of that, the weight of Franco’s contract continues to play a role in the team’s spending.

No, the Rays are not paying Franco while he’s on baseball’s restricted list, but there is still more than $165 million remaining on his contract. And the Rays could be on the hook for that depending on the resolution of his court case, which means it is ever mindful in any decisions about extending contracts or signing players.

It’s not Franco’s fault that Tropicana Field looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie set. It’s not his fault that ownership is being pressured by the commissioner’s office to come up with a new business plan. And it’s not his fault that the starting rotation was disrupted by injuries.

As for everything else …

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