Wander Franco was admitted to a clinic over mental health issues.
The suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, who was convicted in June of sexually abusing a minor and given a two-year suspended sentence, was detained by police on Tuesday (Sept. 9) and admitted into a clinic in the Dominican Republic for mental health issues, according to the Associated Press.
Police spokesman Col. Diego Pesqueira confirmed the request came from Franco’s family.
“He is not in custody; he wasn’t sought in that capacity, but rather was sought to provide him the assistance requested by his own family,” Pesqueira told Dominican newspaper Listín Diario before clarifying that the 24-year-old’s admittance to a private clinic in his hometown of Baní is not linked to any legal issues.
As seen in a screen recording of an Instagram Live session, Franco showed a police officer on screen before saying in Spanish, "Look at the police here. They want to take me, look." The device then dropped, but Franco could still be heard interacting with officers and at one point shouting at them to show their hands, per the Athletic.
Last weekend, Franco claimed on a separate Instagram Live that approximately $16,000 had been stolen from a resort where he was staying in Puerto Plata, though his attorney Teodosio Jáquez, later said the money had been found.
Franco rejected his attorney’s version of the events and insisted the money was stolen.
In August 2023, Franco was investigated by Dominican authorities and the MLB after he was accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
The news came two years after he signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with Tampa Bay.
He was arrested in November 2024 after what authorities described as an altercation over a woman’s attention, during which he was charged with illegally carrying a semiautomatic Glock 19 registered to his uncle. That case is still pending in court.
Six months after the 2024 arrest, the Rays placed him on the restricted list, effectively ending his paid administrative leave because he had not reported to the team and would require a new U.S. visa.
Franco has said he is still in training, though his future in Major League Baseball is uncertain.
In June, he was handed a guilty verdict in the Dominican Republic over the aforementioned sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl. He received a two-year suspended prison sentence with several unspecified conditions that must be met.
The mother of the victim, Martha Vanessa Chevalier Almonte, has also been found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
