4 Rays players that won't be back in 2024

Wander Franco

This is a really, really tough one because no one really knows what is going to happen with Wander Franco. Wander was having a tremendous season on the field in 2023 and was on the periphery of the AL MVP discussion, but then allegations that Wander had relationships with underage girls came out which resulted in the Dominican Republic and MLB launching investigations into Franco's conduct.

Ever since he was placed on administrative leave in August, Franco's future both with the Rays and in MLB has looked decidedly murky. He absolutely deserves to be able to prove his innocence and the lack of details available to the public should mean that everyone needs to wait until the results of the various investigations come out before grabbing pitchforks. However, these are serious allegations and they could absolutely result in severe sanctions if they are found to be true.

Investigations like these take a long time especially when one is dealing with people in another country. It is probable that we will learn more sometime this offseason and if Wander is cleared, he will likely be wearing a Rays uniform sometime next season especially if MLB doesn't find anything unseemly. However, the Rays certainly aren't going to bet their season on that happening and with Junior Caminero in the big leagues, planning for a 2024 season without Wander Franco around seems like the safest course of action.