BASEBALL
Wander Franco is facing a lesser charge after a judge in the Dominican Republic analyzed evidence that alleges the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent.
Originally accused of commercial and sexual exploitation and money laundering — charges that carry up to 30 years, 10 years and 20 years of prison respectively — Franco now stands accused instead of sexual and psychological abuse, according to a judge’s resolution that The Associated Press obtained on Tuesday.
Franco has not been formally accused, but if found guilty on the new charge, he could face between two to five years in prison.
Dominican law allows authorities to detain a suspect while prosecutors gather evidence to support their accusations, with a judge later determining whether there is sufficient evidence for charges to be formally filed and the case to move forward.
In his decision, Judge Romaldy Marcelino observed that prosecutors gave the case against Franco a different and more serious treatment because “the accused is a professional MLB player,” he said, referring to Major League Baseball. He didn’t elaborate.
• The Miami Marlins are in agreement with Rachel Balkovec to be the organization’s director of player development, a source confirmed to the Miami Herald. A formal announcement is expected later this week.
Balkovec, 36, has spent the past two seasons as the manager of the Tampa Tarpons, the Single A affiliate for the New York Yankees. She was the first woman to work as a full-time manager for an MLB-affiliated team. Balkovec also previously served as the hitting coach for the Yankees’ Florida Complex League team and as a minor league strength and conditioning coach — the first woman to hold both of those titles in a full-time capacity.
Balkovec’s hire, once official, will be the latest front-office move under new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Bendix has already hired Gabe Kapler as an assistant general manager and Vinesh Kanthan as a director of baseball operations.
• The Chicago Cubs bolstered their rotation, agreeing to a contract with Japanese left-hander Shōta Imanaga in their first major offseason roster move.
A person familiar with the agreement confirmed it to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it was pending a physical. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The 30-year-old Imanaga, who got the win for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic final against the United States, had until 5 p.m. Thursday to reach an agreement with a major league team.
TENNIS
ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL: Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew from the Australia tournament citing a right hip injury, five days before the Australian Open starts in Melbourne.
The No. 7-ranked Vondrousova pulled out of the tournament hours before her scheduled first-round match against Russian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Taylor Townsend took her place in the draw and beat Sasnovich 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a night match. She had played doubles earlier and was getting a massage when an alert came through that she had been elevated to the singles main draw.
SOCCER
LIVERPOOL: Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold will be sidelined for three weeks because of a slightly torn knee ligament, the team said.
The right-back hyperextended his knee during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in an FA Cup third-round game Sunday.
Tests showed a “little tear” to the lateral ligament, assistant manager Pep Lijnders said ahead of the team’s League Cup semifinal first leg against Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday.
“He will be out probably three weeks — big blow,” Lijnders said at a press conference. “He was one of our most important players.”
Liverpool leads the Premier League by three points and was already preparing for an extended stretch without top scorer Mohamed Salah, who is on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Jurgen Klopp’s team is also missing left-backs Andy Robertson (shoulder) and Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone), as well as central defender Joel Matip (ACL).
Virgil van Dijk is available to play Wednesday after missing the Arsenal game because of an illness.
HOCKEY
NHL: Cutter Gauthier did not want to be a Flyer. And now he is not.
The Flyers on Monday traded Gauthier, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft, to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025.
“It was a long time coming. It’s been going on for a while,” Flyers GM Danny Brière said Monday. “We tried to give him space. We tried to get in touch with him many times. They would not communicate as far as the Gauthier side. So at some point, we had to make a decision and we thought with what happened just a few days ago (at the World Junior Championship), this was our time to probably get the highest value.”
Although the move may have come as a surprise, considering that Gauthier was thought to be the future of the Flyers’ offense, the writing was on the wall.
Brière confirmed that Gauthier said on draft day that he was “built to be a Flyer, wanted to be a Flyer” but then changed his mind a few months later and told the team after the 2023 World Championship that he would not be signing with the team.
Coach John Tortorella summed it up pretty succinctly: “Then we don’t want you.”
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