Wander Franco has been back in the MLB world as a decision regarding his trial has finally been made. The 24-year-old is expected to serve two years in prison, meaning the Tampa Bay Rays finally have a way out of his contract. After signing an 11-year, $182 million deal in November 2021, the Rays have patiently waited to see how much money they could get back as Franco was found guilty.

Tampa Bay Rays Might Receive $172 Million

Franco may have been an All-Star in 2023, but none of that matters anymore. No matter how talented a player he was on the field, he will fall into the Trevor Bauer category of names that are likely blackballed from the MLB. It remains to be seen if he will be banned, but being found guilty and serving a prison sentence should be more than enough for the league to take action.

 

For those who are not aware, even if it’s just for one day in prison, he has been declared GUILTY. Tampa already has enough grounds according to the law. That said, they can break that agreement and deny any additional payment to Franco. He was owed about $172 million, an amount…

— Mike Rodriguez (@mikedeportes) June 26, 2025

“Tampa already has enough grounds according to the law,” MLB insider Mike Rodriguez said. “That said, they can break that agreement and deny any additional payment to Franco. He was owed about $172 million, an amount that could be used to benefit other Tampa players.”

The Rays are hot, and they would greatly benefit from this money. Just half a game behind the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay is on a three-game winning streak. They’ve won five of their last six and nine of their last 13. With the Yankees on a downward spiral, there’s a real possibility that the Rays could head into the All-Star break as the AL East division leaders.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, it seems likely that Franco’s time with the Rays is done. That has been the case for quite a while now, but the team was officially waiting until he was proven guilty. Even if he weren’t, he likely wouldn’t have returned to the team, but now they can get close to a full refund on his massive contract extension. The team had no idea what they were in for during his extension nearly four years ago.

Regardless, the Rays have found a way to win. They’ve proved that they can seamlessly move past Franco and never have to hear his name brought up again. With Yandy Diaz hitting .286 with over 300 at-bats and Junior Caminero crushing 20 home runs already this season, the Rays are sitting pretty. Seeing as Jonathan Aranda leads the team with his .329 average and .898 OPS, it’s clear this team has more than enough weapons on offense.