MLB, Rays looking into Wander Franco social media ‘speculation’

Posted By: Sophia Andrew

Posted On: August 14, 2023

Big Baseball Group is checking out things on social media about All-Star player Wander Franco. The Rays team said this on Sunday night.

On Sunday, a lot of people on X (used to be called Twitter) were talking about posts. These posts said that Wander Franco, who is 22 and a really good player, might have been in a wrong kind of friendship with someone younger.

The team noticed these posts during the game today. After they lost 9-2 to the Cleveland Guardians, they said something in a statement. They said that they are taking this situation seriously. They are also talking a lot with Big Baseball Group to make sure they know everything about what’s going on.

On Sunday, Franco didn’t play in the game, even though they were giving away special hats with his name on them for kids who are 14 years old or younger. Instead, another player named Osleivis Basabe, who is also a really good player, played in his place.

Before the game started, the boss of the Rays team, Kevin Cash, said they wanted Franco to rest and take a break. Later, after the game was over, when someone asked if there was another reason, Cash said, “No, he just needed a day off.”

When someone mentioned the ideas that were spreading on social media, Cash said he knew about them.

“I know people are talking about this, but I won’t say more about it. The reason for the day off was simply because he needed a break,” Cash explained.

Manager Kevin Cash addresses the media after the @RaysBaseball loss to the Guardians on Sunday 🎙 pic.twitter.com/ZmhDdztl3T

— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) August 13, 2023

After the game ended, the head person of the Rays team, Peter Bendix, walked through the place where the players hang out and went into Cash’s office. But he didn’t want to say anything about it when asked by a team spokesperson.

Right when the game started on Sunday, the posts on social media became really popular. By the time the game finished, Franco’s name was the most talked-about topic related to sports on that platform.

Franco came to the field where they played the game about three hours before it started. He was with at least one other player. He was seen sitting in the place where the team sits during the early parts of the game, but then he left around the fifth part of the game and didn’t come back. After the game, he wasn’t in the place where the players usually go.

Someone who takes care of the team’s stuff packed up Franco’s baseball things into a big bag that the team uses when they travel. Right after the game ended, the Rays team went straight to the airport because they needed to fly to San Francisco. They have a series of three games against the Giants starting on Monday.

Franco has been one of the best shortstop players in the American League this season. He has been hitting the ball really well in the past few weeks. He got hits in the last seven games he played, and he even hit the winning home run in a game on Friday against the Guardians at Tropicana Field.

Franco had a lot of work to do. Since the other shortstop player, Taylor Walls, was not able to play due to being injured, Franco played in 40 games in a row before taking a break on Sunday.

Earlier this season, the Rays team didn’t let Franco play for a little while because they felt he wasn’t being a good teammate, according to what Cash, the boss of the team, said. After missing two games, Franco came back and promised to do better with his feelings and how he acted.

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