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.