WORSE AND WORSE

Second Underage Victim May Have Complained About Wander Franco: Report

Major League Baseball is investigating Wander Franco after he was accused in a series of social media posts of having had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl.

Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic are scrutinizing claims that Wander Franco, the 22-year-old star shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, may have had an inappropriate relationship with a second underage teen. The Dominican newspaper Diario Libre reported Tuesday that the attorney general’s office had received a complaint from a 17-year-old girl about Franco in July. The report comes just one day after Franco was accused in a series of tweets of having had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Diario Libre that the 17-year-old is not the same person referred to in the social media posts. The Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday that the 17-year-old, after coming forward, has since stopped cooperating with the investigation. The Rays said Monday that the team is in “close contact” with the league as it launches an investigation into the matter. The team placed Franco on its restricted list pending the outcome of the probe, benching him for at least six games.