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MLB Trade Rumors: Five fits for Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco
Jun 23, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (7) hits a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies are said to have made third baseman Maikel Franco very available. Here are five destinations for the young third baseman.
The Philadelphia Phillies are going through their rebuilding program, figuring out who they can move forward with and who they cannot. One of those that should be a big piece to their puzzle is third baseman Maikel Franco.
Last season, Franco looked like he was going to be a big part of their core. In his age 23 season, Franco hit .255 with a .733 OPS, 25 homers and 88 RBI. They thought they had their guy at the hot corner for years to come.
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Alas, 2017 has been a different story. Franco is hitting just .221/.280/.365 with nine homers and 37 RBI in 69 games. This has led him to be more than available in trade discussions with a little over a month until the deadline.
2. Maikel Franco, 3B, Phillies — Once one of the Phillies' untouchables, the 24-year-old third baseman is more than available, according to a major league source. Franco has had a poor season, hitting .227 with eight homers and 36 RBIs. His game has really gone downhill after showing so much promise last season when he hit 25 homers and knocked in 88 runs.
To me, Franco would be a player the Phillies should hold onto. It could be very similar to Marcell Ozuna of the Miami Marlins. Ozuna struggled in his age 24 season back in 2015, but rebounded last year to be an All-Star and is having an even better 2017 campaign.
If the Phillies were to trade Franco, here are five places he could land.
Jun 15, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) warms up in the dugout before action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Red Sox
As bad as Franco has been this season, he would be an upgrade over what the Red Sox have run out at the hot corner this season. Pablo Sandoval is currently on the DL with an ear infection and hasn't been much more useful when healthy.
They've used Deven Marrero, Josh Rutledge, Marco Hernandez, Brock Holt and Steve Selsky at the position as well. Even with their lack of production at the hot corner, they are tied for first with the New York Yankees.
Three of the Red Sox top 10 prospects are third basemen per MLBpipeline.com, however, none of them are past Double-A.
Franco at Fenway Park could do some serious damage. Per Fangraphs, he's pulling the ball less this season, however, maybe playing his home games at Fenway Park could be the kickstart to his offense that he needs this season and get him back to pulling the ball more.
Dave Dombrowski has been aggressive in trading away prospects in the past. Maybe buying low on a young player will help them instead of possibly paying more for Mike Moustakas if he becomes available?
Mar 3, 2017; Dunedin, FL, USA; New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi (28) talk prior to their spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees
This is a sneaky buy low opportunity for New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. He bought low on Aaron Hicks and Didi Gregorius and both have blossomed this season. The Yankees were interested before. The Phillies outbid the Yankees by $5,000 and were able to sign Franco. This could give Cashman a second bite at the apple.
If Franco can find his power stroke, were he to land in the Bronx, combining him with Aaron Judge, Matt Holliday and Gary Sanchez would be quite the right-handed power show in the Bronx.
In terms of a fit this year, Gleyber Torres won't be walking through that door this season after undergoing season-ending surgery. Chase Headley has been hot and cold all year, however, they could move Headley to first, were they to acquire Franco, with Greg Bird being injured and Chris Carter being recently DFA'd.
In terms of prospects, we all know about Torres, but Miguel Andujar just got called up to Triple-A and is one of the Yankees top prospects as well as Tyler Wade.
The Yankees have the prospects to get anyone, and if Franco is truly available, it wouldn't surprise me to see Cashman take a shot even with the prospects the Yankees have.
Nov 8, 2016; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson during the MLB general managers meeting at the Omni Scottsdale Resort. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
New York Mets
This move would be quite risky for the Philadelphia Phillies, sending Franco to a divisional rival. However, they have made trades in the past and there was even talk of Jay Bruce being traded to Philly in the off-season.
This move would make a ton of sense for the Mets. David Wright isn't walking through that door anytime soon and possibly never will again. At this point, they don't really know who will be on their infield next season.
Top prospects Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith will probably man short and first respectively if they don't bring back Lucas Duda, Jose Reyes and trade Asdrubal Cabrera. What about second and third?
Neil Walker will be a free agent after the season ends. Wilmer Flores has been on a tear offensively, but they do believe he can play well enough defensively at either second or third to start consistently?
Trading for Franco could answer one of their infield questions and could form a nice core with Michael Conforto and Yoenis Cespedes next season if Franco can rebound.
Jun 22, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy (15) talks to umpire Quinn Wolcott (81) against the Atlanta Braves in the fifth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco Giants
Like the Mets, the San Francisco Giants don't really know who will be at the corner for them moving forward either.
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Eduardo Nunez is a pending free agent and is probably out the door as the Giants are set to be sellers for the first time in a long time. The Giants tried Christian Arroyo there earlier in the season and he hit below .200 and is now on the DL. They recently called up Ryder Jones to give him a shot.
The Giants have an aging core full of bad contracts that are going to be impossible to move and would not get much back in return, even if they ate some of the money left on those deals.
Acquiring a player like Franco and combining him with Brandon Crawford on the left side of the infield would be a huge help moving forward as they attempt to rebuild and compete at the same time (hey, 2018 is an even year after all).
The Giants don't have one of the best of farm systems and adding a young player is exactly what they need. Plus, if he flourishes, some of their bigger contracts will be off the books in time to keep Franco around long term.
Jun 24, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers (center) and third baseman Cory Spangenberg (15) talk before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Padres
Even though the San Diego Padres are rebuilding as much as the Phillies are, buying low on corner bat like Franco is still something they should take into account. Having Franco with Wil Myers as your corner infielders would be a nice place to start. They can then move Yangervis Solarte to second base if he isn't traded himself.
In the outfield, they have rookies Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot along with Austin Hedges behind the plate. If they all hit, you could have a very nice offense in San Diego.
They've had Cory Spangenberg and Ryan Schimpf at the hot corner this season. Spangenberg could be a nice utility guy while Schimpf did hit 14 homers but only .158 in 53 games this season.
In the end, I don't believe the Philadelphia Phillies should give up on Franco quite yet. He's still young and may just need to make a couple of adjustments. However, if they are to deal him, there will be no shortage of suitors for him, because of his youth and cost control.
