Maikel Franco agrees to deal with the Royals
Per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, former Phillie Maikel Franco has agreed to a deal with the Kansas City Royals. The contract is for one-year, 2.95 million dollars with 1.05 million in performance incentives.
It was reported earlier that multiple teams were interested in the former Phillies third baseman. Before Anthony Rendon signed with the Los Angeles Angels, the Nationals and Rangers were two teams that considered Franco to be a viable option if they missed out on signing the top position player on the market.
Franco will be the everyday third baseman for a rebuilding Royals team. It isn’t much of a surprise that Franco garnered interest from many teams. He hit 39 home runs in the past two seasons, doesn’t strike out much and has a decent arm. If he can swing the bat more consistently and limit his groundball percentage, he should have a productive first season in Kansas City.
Franco’s signing means it’s officially time for Phillies fans to say goodbye to a player who was an integral part of the rebuilding phase. Franco joined the big league squad in 2014 and found success during his 2015 rookie campaign, slashing .280/.343/.497 with 14 home runs, 50 RBIs and a 1.9 fWAR. He got off to a hot start in 2019, with many declaring Franco the best 8-hole hitter in baseball. He struggled through the rest of the campaign and was eventually sent to Triple-A during the summer and non-tendered at the end of the season.
He’s also hit a few memorable home runs. His three-run walk-off home run against the Marlins in 2019 will go down as his best in a Phillies uniform:
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