Tampa Bay places troubled Franco on administrative leave again
The Tampa Bay Rays took shortstop Wander Franco off the 40-man roster and placed him on paid administrative leave Thursday as the investigation continues into allegations he had a relationship with a teenage girl.
The procedural move was made by agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, and his placement on the list runs through June 1.
Franco, 23, ended the 2023 season on administrative leave, placed there Aug. 22 as MLB launched an investigation into social media posts emerged that alleged he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a minor in his native Dominican Republic.
The 2023 All-Star has been accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering. He’s alleged to have given a 14-year-old girl’s mother thousands of dollars plus a car to secure her consent to his relationship with her daughter.
Franco was moved back to Tampa Bay’s active roster after the season ended, but only because administrative leave is unavailable during the offseason.
The Rays signed the promising youngster to an 11-year, $182 million contract extension on Nov. 23, 2021, following his rookie season. It was the largest contract ever given to a player with less than one year of service at the time of signing, according to Spotrac.
The contract calls for him to earn $2 million this season, with the annual cash eventually reaching $25 million in 2028 and running through the end of the deal.
Franco has a career batting average of .282 with 292 hits, 30 home runs and 130 RBI in 265 games with the Rays.
ELSEWHERE
Yankees: Any dreams of a speedy return to the mound for reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole were dashed Thursday when New York moved the right-hander to the 60-day injured list due to elbow inflammation.
On March 16, Cole said he wouldn’t throw for three to four weeks in an effort to heal his ailing throwing elbow, telling reporters that nerve irritation and edema were the source of his problem, with rest and recovery the prescription.
Cole, 33, pitched just twice this spring, once in a Grapefruit League game on March 1 and then in a simulated game six days later. He subsequently was shut down and underwent medical tests.
The UCLA product has been one of the majors’ most durable pitchers, making at least 30 starts in every season since
2017 except for the strikeshortened 2020 campaign.
Postponements: The anticipation for the 2024 Mets campaign will have 24 extra hours to build. The club announced the postponement of the opening day matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field late Wednesday, moving the game from Thursday to Friday at 1:40 p.m. because of rain in the forecast. Left-hander Jose Quintana will start against Freddy Peralta and the Brewers. Both of them signal a changing of the guard of sorts with their respective teams. The Mets’ rotation is no longer as star-laden as it once was, but they’re hoping a grouping of Quintana, Luis Severino, Tylor Megill, Sean Manaea and Adrian
Houser can be consistent and dependable until their flashy ace, Kodai Senga, is able to start the season . ... For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Phillies have rescheduled their home opener at Citizens Bank Park because rain is in the forecast. The team announced Wednesday that its opening day against the Atlanta Braves, which was originally scheduled for 3:05 p.m. Thursday, will now be held Friday at 3:05 p.m. Last year, the Phillies made the same decision for their April 5 home opener against the Reds — to push back their home opener ahead of a forecast of rain — only to see no rain and temperatures of 80 degrees.
Rangers: First baseman Jared Walsh earned his way onto Texas’ Opening Day roster, multiple outlets reported Wednesday, after struggling with health issues the past two seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Walsh joined the Rangers on a minor league deal this past offseason and helped himself this spring with three home runs. A spot at first base opened up when Nathaniel Lowe came away with an oblique strain earlier this month.
Walsh, 30, saw his
2022 season end early for the Angels with thoracic outlet syndrome then played just 39 games last season with neurological issues that caused headaches and insomnia and led to him visiting a specialist in Utah.
In five major league seasons, Walsh is a career .240 hitter in 364 games with 58 home runs and 184 RBI. He was an AllStar in 2021 when he hit 29 home runs with 98 RBI.
Dodgers: Los Angeles signed catcher Will Smith to a 10-year extension worth $140 million on Wednesday.
The deal will include deferred compensation, per MLB.com. Ten years marks the longest contract for a catcher in MLB history and potentially keeps Smith in Dodger blue through the 2033 season.
Smith and the Dodgers had agreed to a deal worth $8.55 million for this season, avoiding arbitration. He’ll now earn $14 million in 2024.
Smith turned 29 on Thursday.
Smith, who bats cleanup in the Dodgers’ order, is coming off his first All-Star season. He hit .261 with 19 home runs and 76 RBI in 2023. He’s off to a 5-for-10 start this season after the twogame set vs. San Diego last week in South Korea.
Smith, a first-round pick in the 2016 draft, owns a career slash line of .263/.358/.484 with 91 home runs and 308 RBI.
Baltimore Boston New York Tampa Bay Toronto Central
Detroit Cleveland Kansas City Minnesota Chicago West
Houston Oakland Seattle Texas
Los Angeles
East
Atlanta Miami
New York Philadelphia Washington Central
Chicago Cincinnati Milwaukee Pittsburgh St. Louis West
Los Angeles San Diego Arizona Colorado San Francisco
FRIDAY AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto (Bassitt 0-0) at Tampa Bay (Civale 0-0), 6:50
N.Y. Yankees (Rodón 0-0) at Houston (Javier 0-0), 8:10
Boston (Pivetta 0-0) at Seattle (Kirby 0-0), 9:40
Cleveland (Allen 0-0) at Oakland (Stripling 0-0), 9:40
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee (Peralta 0-0) at N.Y. Mets (Quintana 0-0), 1:40
Atlanta (Strider 0-0) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 0-0), 3:05
Pittsburgh (Pérez 0-0) at Miami (Puk 0-0), 7:10
Colorado (Quantrill 0-0) at Arizona (Kelly 0-0), 9:40
San Francisco (Harrison 0-0) at San Diego (Musgrove 0-0), 9:40
St. Louis (Thompson 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Miller 0-0), 10:10
THURSDAY
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 11, L.A. Angels 3 Detroit 1, Chicago White Sox 0 Minnesota at Kansas City
N.Y. Yankees at Houston Toronto at Tampa Bay Cleveland at Oakland
Boston at Seattle
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Miami
San Francisco at San Diego
St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers Washington at Cincinnati Colorado at Arizona
Milwaukee at N.Y. Mets, ppd. Atlanta at Philadelphia, ppd.
INTERLEAGUE
Chicago Cubs at Texas