Kansas City Royals Maikel Franco Newsstand Transactions. The Royals wasted little time in offering Franco a fresh start after the Phillies non-tendered the 27-year-old former top 100 prospect who once posted three consecutive 20 … Good luck Royals. Your privacy is safe with us. [4], Prior to the 2014 season, Franco was ranked by MLB.com and Baseball America as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Gotta the complacent insinuations about latino players. Then, Adalberto Mondesi made an error at shortstop on another grounder off the bat of Victor Reyes. I agree. Dozier RF Isbel/Starling CF Give you a break? Join the KC Kingdom team! With that being said, Maikel is not a bad player, but Phillies have the capability to deploy someone else at 3B and use his ~$6 million arbitration salary to bolster other parts of the roster. Soler DH Griffin went 1 2⁄3 scoreless innings, notching his first career strikeout and looking noticeably sharper than Montgomery. Royals Rumblings - News for October 15, 2020, Salary estimates for arbitration-eligible Royals players. At least it feels that way. at least Maikel had like 2 good years. I still believe in Franco who showed brief signs of brilliance on both sides of the field in 2019. If he could beat out a ground out once in a while he would produce more. When you have 6 potential studs in AA or higher ??? Good luck Maikel. Merrifield had three opportunities to get a triple, but he was hit by a pitch and got out twice. On June 23, against the Yankees, he became the first player in Phillies history, since the RBI stat was invented in 1920, to have back-to-back 5-RBI games. If he plans out they can maybe flip him for that prospect that deserves time. Why ? The Royals roared ahead in the sixth inning with a flurry of hard hits. Franco made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Phillies that year. Brett Phillips can’t hit so why would you have him DH? [8] On December 2, 2019 Franco was non-tendered by the Phillies, making him a free agent. Had to be tendered, but tough to give up on him. People will drive 4 hours to a Royals game and then turn around and drive home THAT NIGHT! Ok! With decent pitching the Phils could have won with Franco at 3rd. Maikel would be a plus on a good team that has enough hitting that he could bat 7th or 8th. “I felt really good after my last two at-bats Saturday. One way or the other, Franco isn’t a Royal come September. I swear the he only hit well against was the Mets bullpen. Perez C And to start the inning, Montgomery was awfully unlucky. Just not a good fit right now. As a Phillies fan, I wish Maikel good luck in KC. “Just proud of this group,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. Kansas City Royals signed free agent 3B Maikel Franco. [1] He received a $100,000 signing bonus.[2]. “For him to hit that home run where he did [center field] shows you how strong he is,” Matheny said. The Royals just got a little bit better. “He was a little distraught after the game,” Matheny said. [5] The Phillies invited him to spring training where he competed with Cody Asche for the starting third base job. Think the change of scenery is what he needs. Jeffrey Flanagan has covered the Royals since 1991, and for MLB.com since 2015. Merrifield CF As I stated in the game thread, the Miami Marlins coronavirus outbreak may well doom this season before it properly gets off the ground. Phillips LF The Royals chased Tigers starter Michael Fulmer in the third inning after resounding home runs by Whit Merrifield and Salvador Perez. It’s one of those peaks and valleys the whole day. The team should have cut their losses a year or two ago. was right to non-tender him, but if he had been in line for a minors deal that would have been a good idea. Franco’s night was one of many offensive highlights for the Royals: • Leadoff hitter Whit Merrifield nearly hit for the cycle. Copyright: © 2020 ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Detroit then replaced Funkhouser with Beau Burrows. Now he’s playing in a place with no expectations. The nice part is those positions might have solutions within the organization with younger players in the farm system. He got through the first inning with no damage surrendered. “Getting him back was the shot in the arm we were looking for,” Matheny said. Royals make one-year deal with 3B Franco official, Royals reach deal with 3B Franco, sources say, Phils non-tender starting INFs Franco, Hernandez, Philly demotes 3B Franco, Kingery starts Sunday, The most important storylines of the loaded NL East race, Harper aims to deliver Philly a World Series title, Buster's Buzz: For these guys, spring training stats actually do matter, Phillies reach deals with 5 players; not Nola, Phils' Franco to undergo further testing on wrist, Walk-off thrills aside, Strasburg's return sends up red flag. [14], On December 27, 2019, Franco signed a one-year $2.95 million deal with the Kansas City Royals. The Phillies are no better at this point with or without him. Dozier won’t be starting the season at 1B. JaCoby Jones and Niko Goodrum crushed a home run and triple at 109 MPH and 104 MPH off the bat, respectively, and after a sac fly it was 5-1 Tigers. He was on a short leash every season in Philly. It’s why they had turf all those years…to avoid rainout. Way to go. Makes Franco was Philly’s starting 3B for three years before 2019. Unfortunately they were very brief. Glad the Rangers didn’t sign him. He has streaky power, his defense is good and he can make a spectacular play now and then because of his arm. “I just felt good to be able to contribute,” Franco said. Royals draw from a fanbase that is 200-300 miles around KC. Latest on Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Franco including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN They snowballed Santa Claus. Lopez 2B, Whit LF Final score: 14-6. Look for Whit Merrifield to remain in the outfield for the 2021 season. “He’s been so disciplined and stayed so healthy his whole career. Hunter Dozier 1B There’s a lot of players that struggle. No, but he hasn’t been good. I like Franco, hearts in the right place. I’m not exactly sure if the number but I don’t think we’ve had a home grown 20 game winning pitcher in 50 years. Now that Salvy’s back for 2020 maybe a few fans will return as well. No they really want Alex to return but that’s his decision. What more could the Phillies have given Franco? they should try him in the outfield. I’d say they were almost smitten with Franco. Mondesi SS The Royals are slated to face the Tigers for the second game out of four tomorrow, if it’s not cancelled or postponed along with the rest of the MLB season. One thing that surprised me is that Franco was actually rated better on defense than Dozier is by UZR this year. It’s possible, Only teams he’s good against is the Mets, Aldaberto Mondesi SS Never understood the Philly hate towards this guy. [13] He was optioned to Triple-A on August 4. I see a KC trade coming. The other options would be to place either Hunter Dozier at third base, make Kelvin Guitierrez the every day third baseman, or to explore the free agent market. • Salvador Perez hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the third. heck of an arm. It seems like when the Kansas City Royals sign a free agent that it never works out. He hit .280/.336/.439 with 14 home runs in 132 games. Or the Mickey Ds at the next exit in Independence? August 26, 2019: Philadelphia Phillies optioned 3B Maikel Franco to … • Brett Phillips hit a two-run home run, his first of the season, in the ninth. Combine that with his 7 homers and 31 RBIs and Franco’s numbers are worthy of placing him among the best at that position this season. In 2019 with the Phillies he batted .234/.297/.409 with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs in 389 at bats, and received 19 intentional walks (2nd-most in the National League). He has committed 6 errors and has a fielding percentage of .942 in 102 total chances. Gordon LF [15] Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Franco batted .278 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 60 games. The future of the Royals outfield appears to be moving in a direction of speed fueled by younger players like Olivares and possibly Nick Heath. It’s not about saving the team, it’s about re-establishing himself. At some point, the Royals figured they would have to break out of an early-season slump after scoring only five runs in three games in Cleveland to open the 2020 campaign. Why does it matter where I’m from? Love is a tricky thing. However, Griffin, the Royals' first-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, earned the victory and became the third pitcher since 1901 to win his Major League debut on his birthday, joining Edwin Jackson (Sept. 9, 2003) and Zach Day (June 15, 2002). This makes it much easier to overcome these deficiencies instead of taking a gamble on an overpaid free agent. 2 spot in the order, hit an opposite-field, two-run homer in the fifth. Hate? Was kinda hoping Cleveland would sign him. It is going to be a new trend, put your defense first players with no power or any ability to hit MLB pitching in the DH spot., Merrifield CF The Royals have reached agreement on a one-year deal with third baseman Maikel Franco, MLB.com’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter). CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: Maikel Franco #7 of the Kansas City Royals leads off first base against the Cleveland Indians during the third inning at Progressive Field on September 10, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. Insight and critical thinking like this is why I come here…. Maikel Franco leads Royals in 14-6 home run fest over Tigers, Royals Rumblings - News for October 17, 2020. I’m tellin you man, he’s one of the best in baseball at that bare handed slow roller up the third base line. Even if Franco has a nice bounce back year, it will be much harder to trade him for value than it would be to trade a pitcher. Early success at age 22 might have made him complacent. That’s got to be good, right? It began with a Franchy Cordero double and a Merrifield double, sandwiched around a Brett Phillips walked. Whit Merrifield 2B His .281 batting average (as of this writing) is the fourth best average among those at third in the league. Soler DH Better player than the stats may tell. As a Phillies fan. He and Dozier were the logical players to pencil in at third base, and we all know Dozier is going to be in the line-up almost every day. He was given 2500+ plate appearances to establish himself in Philly’s future. Might not be good enough stats for a “playoff team” 3rd baseman but for half of the teams in the league who know they’re not playoff teams those stats for a third baseman are just fine. My guess is he will continue to show tantalizing flashes, but still fail to live up to his potential. Franco 3B For a moment, it looked like Kyle Funkhouser would wiggle out of it without any additional damage, but with two outs Salvador Perez walked (yes, walked). So I assume that he will have a longer leash to prove himself. Will miss you Maikel! I wish him luck and will follow his season and be happy for him if just for the fact that he should get plenty of playing time. Give me a break about the snowballs. Afterwards, though, Montgomery stopped being unlucky and started being just plain bad. great on all accounts for a rebuilding small market team. This is addition by subtraction for the Phils. I would expect to see him bat about .260 with 25-28 HR if he gets 525 AB. Likely going to see significant time in RF if Gordon is gone and Merrifield plays LF with Starling and Phillips platooning CF. In the bottom of the third, Mike Matheny continued his history of quick hooks by yanking Montgomery and replacing him with Foster Griffin for his Major League debut—on his 25th birthday, no less. With Dozier’s ability to possibly take first base full time and a free agent “third base tree” that really appears empty, Moore would be best fit trying to get Franco back for one more season.