Phillies third basman Maikel Franco has switched agencies and is now a client of Octagon Sports, Jon Heyman of FanRag reports (Twitter link).
Although he’s still just 25 years old, this may be a make-or-break season in Philadelphia for Franco, who has batted an underwhelming .248/.301/.428 (91 wRC+) through 1,663 plate appearances since debuting in 2014. Franco was outstanding as a rookie in 2015, when he hit .280/.343/.497 (129 wRC+) across 335 PAs and looked like a long-term core piece for Philly. He struggled during the two ensuing seasons, however, and is now fighting to stay relevant for a Phillies team that may have a replacement on hand in 23-year-old infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery, whom they signed to a long-term contract last month. Kingery landed his deal before ever logging a major league at-bat, demonstrating the confidence the Phillies have in him.
Franco, to his credit, has responded to the pressure in 2018, albeit over just 18 PAs. He has thus far slashed .313/.318/.813 (213 wRC+), including a grand slam on Saturday. Regardless of whether he stays with the Phillies, he’s controllable via arbitration through the 2021 campaign. Franco’s on a $2.95MM salary this season.
Small sample size. Just sayin’…..
Isn’t Franco one of the guys who took a loan from some agency (I can’t remember the name) in exchange for a percentage of all future earnings. At the time it sounded like a head scratcher, but look at how time changes things.
Yes. Company name is Fantex.
BTI Sports.
(Just anticipating the inevitable.)
Saw Franco’s slam and then I left the game. It’s hard to watch the Phillies; when they’re playing the Marlins I just can’t hack it.
What….?
Yea I don’t really understand either. You left because they started doing good?
Please. For all of our sakes – go away.
Do you really want to use the word “hack” when commenting on the Phillies?
Free, is that you?
conch……It is free-aec…unfortunately.
Ok