Wander Franco earns $700,000 bonus from MLB pool despite ongoing investigation
Wander Franco will receive a bonus from Major League Baseball of more than $700,000 despite being placed on administrative leave in August while under investigation for an alleged relationship with a minor
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Wander Franco will receive a bonus from Major League Baseball of more than $700,000 despite being placed on administrative leave in August while under investigation for an alleged relationship with a minor.
Franco will get $706,761 as part of MLB's pre-arbitration bonus pool, a fund agreed to by the league and players' association as part of their 2022 labor contract. The bonus pool was created to reward young players, most who earn at or just above the minimum major league salary based on how long they've been in the big leagues.
The 22-year-old Franco was having an All-Star season before being sidelined in August, when authorities in the Dominican Republic began investigating claims that Franco had been in a relationship with a minor. MLB launched its own investigation, placing Franco on the restricted list on Aug. 14 before moving him to administrative leave on Aug. 22. Both investigations are ongoing.
The $50 million MLB bonus pool is distributed based on a joint Wins Above Replacement formula designed to measure a player's on-field contributions, and Franco accrued 4.8377 WAR, which caused his bonus to rank 13th among eligible players. The pool also takes into account MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year voting and selection to the all-MLB first and second teams.
Franco was still paid while on administrative leave and continued to receive his $2 million salary. He also has a $2 million salary next season as part of a $182 million, 11-year contract that started in 2022. If he is suspended at the conclusion of the investigation, he would not be paid for the duration of that ban.
Before his season was cut short, Franco had been projected to get $896,755 in the pool, according to WAR calculations through June 26. Payments are due by Dec. 31. Franco’s two-year bonus pool total is $999,545.
He made his first All-Star team this year and hit .281 with 17 homers, 58 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 112 games.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.