The Orioles announced Friday that third baseman Maikel Franco has cleared release waivers and is now a free agent. He can sign with any club for the remainder of the season, and a new team would owe him only the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster.
Franco, who turned 29 yesterday, was designated for assignment earlier in the week amid a series of Orioles roster moves. He’s been the primary third baseman in Baltimore this season but has managed only a .210/.253/.355 output. Franco has homered 11 times and added 22 doubles in 403 plate appearances, but his general lack of offense reached a tipping point and prompted the Orioles to look at younger options.
As ugly as this season has been, Franco posted a very solid .278/.321/.457 slash with the Royals last summer, appearing in all 60 games and connecting on 24 extra-base hits (eight homers, 16 doubles). The former Phillies top prospect has shown flashes of potential at the plate throughout his big league career but has yet to produce on a consistent basis. Overall, he’s a lifetime .246/.297/.423 with 121 home runs through 3185 plate appearances at the MLB level.
With Franco out of the picture, the Orioles’ infield mix is comprised of Trey Mancini at first base, Jahmai Jones at second base, Jorge Mateo at shortstop and Ramon Urias/Kelvin Gutierrez at third base — at least for the time being. Infield prospect Rylan Bannon looked to be having an absolutely lost year in Triple-A but has been doing everything in his power to salvage his season in recent weeks. Bannon clobbered 10 homers in a span of 10 games this month and is batting .356/.431/1.044 over his past 12 games. His overall season batting line is just .185/.281/.441 — thanks in part to a recent 0-for-35 stretch — but manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko earlier this week that there’s “definitely a possibility” of Bannon being summoned to the big leagues in September.
Next stop:South Korea or Japan.
I’d think he’d get picked up as a bench piece for a wild card contender this year. But, yeah, next season Japan or Korea is a solid prediction
Ugh. In what way is a awful hitting third baseman a useful bench piece for anyone?
Rangers could give him a look.
Nearly 30 years old with a mediocre track record. Sounds perfect for the Cubs.
With Hoskins out for the rest of the year, maybe the Phils ought to sign him for the balance of the season.
We can have a reunion of our awesome
mid-teens Phillies teams….
Mets can use a 65 OPS+ guy.
Guys… he’s a 60ish OPS+ 3rd baseman. Nobody needs him. Nobody needs to give him a look. How bad does a player need to be before name recognition wears off and fans see reality? This is getting ridiculous.
Franco seemed to turn a corner in Kansas City but reverted back in Baltimore. Maybe getting out of the east is key. We heard the Rangers will be “very active” in free agency next winter, so Ranger fans…
Mets should give him a chance, he crushes them every at bat, maybe he can hit well in citi field. Dfa Miguel Castro to make room
Absolutely not. He is what he is. All the fake voodoo nonsense like scenery changes or what team he happened to have a few good games ain’t changing that. Look at his OPS+ and rethink your idea.
You clearly haven’t heard of Willy Adames, the poster child for scenery changes
Except Adames had a great track record hitting outside of Tropicana Field.
His Road/Home splits were wild.
Adames was a good player whose career took off at a young age after changing teams. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Completely different situations. Franco’s problem isn’t geographical, I assure you. No players issue is geographical. Talent doesn’t work like that.
Wrong Franco
He’s always been a pretty productive player from the bottom of the order. You have to wonder what went wrong:
1 unable to adjust?
2 unwilling to adjust?
3 skills declining?
4 poor coaching?
5 poor preparation?
6 lack of focus?
…or just a victim of the current hitting philosophies?
Why do major league hitters in general tail off so quickly, especially when they have shown in the past they do have the ability to play at the highest level?
Maybe his early success was driven by the uber athleticism of extreme youth? Just a guess. Maybe the league just figured out a flawed player?
Hell elias, maybe you should have put him in the bullpen! If he threw a strike he’d be better than the crap you have there now