Wander Franco’s trial starts Monday. Here is what you need to know.

|After a nearly six-month delay, Wander Franco’s trial on multiple charges is set to begin Monday in the Dominican Republic with his freedom and baseball future on the line, as well as a significant impact on the Rays franchise.

Franco faces charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking stemming from a relationship with a then-14-year-old girl that started in December 2022, when Franco was 21. If found guilty, Franco, now 24, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. He has not played for the Rays since word of the relationship surfaced on social media in August 2023.

The trial, which is expected to last at least three to four months, originally was set for mid-December , but was delayed at the request of the prosecutors when only three of 30-some wit