Franco Optioned to AAA

[xogfog]

In a roster move today Brad Miller comes off the IL and in a surprise move, Maikel Franco was optioned to AAA.

[DurhamBull]

Ouch. I wonder what that conversation was like. Among NL 3B, he's last in OBP, next to last in OPS, and the only player with negative WAR, so it's not like he can argue that the Phils didn't need to try something.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/3b/league/nl

I wonder if Phil Gosselin won't get another look. He's not on the 40-man, but he has an OPS over 1.000 in AAA.

[Taudawg]

Probably a candidate to be non-tendered this offseason.

[andyb]

When Bruce comes off they probably have another tough decision - Quinn or Haseley - where waiving Quinn would mean losing him and sending Haseley to AAA would be only until September 1st. Miller adds another left-handed bat if that were to come to pass, though the moves might not be related. They will see Miller more at 3B now when Kingery is in CF and that could be the lineup for a few weeks if they decide they need to keep Quinn.

Big picture is that Quinn is useful to the bench and the team really does not need both Bruce and Dickerson who play the same position.

[el-pietro]

Wow. This comes as a surprise. Not that I disagree with it but I definitely didn't see it coming.

[phillychuck]

If Franco is popular with his teammates this is a mistake. It can fracture a locker room. It's really management's responsibility--they should have let him go or traded him earlier if they were not going to ride things out with him on the roster.

[Austinfan]

Trade him for what? Same problem as Nick Williams, he's played so bad that he's deep sixed his trade value.

Though I'd also send Rodriguez down and bring Gosselin up.
Rodriguez has a career OPS of .681, and that's inflated by one good season in 2016 when he posted an .859 OPS in about 340 PA. He looked pitiful last night.

[julio]

If Franco is popular with his teammates this is a mistake. It can fracture a locker room. It's really management's responsibility--they should have let him go or traded him earlier if they were not going to ride things out with him on the roster.

I understand the concern, but what would you have had them do instead? Franco is of limited value on the bench - he plays only the infield corners, both of which are occupied by better hitters (assuming Kingery at 3B). He's slow, so not a pinch-runner. He's never hit LH pitching particularly well. On the bench, his only role is the late-inning "hail Mary" pinch-hitter who just might hit one out.

If the organization didn't believe they need 8 relievers, and managed pitchers accordingly... well, then there might be a role for a Franco on the bench. But with a four-man bench, he just doesn't bring much to the party.

[California_Dreamin]

PC...boy, this was the first thing I thought of...Franco is popular in the clubhouse and I have to believe this will not be viewed in a positive light. Look, I get that its a performance based business but clubhouse chemistry matters and I happen to believe there are more than a few disgruntled guys in the clubhouse now...friends of Franco's, Eflin, maybe Pivetta [though I agree with the decision to move him to the bullpen.]

And, truth be told, I think Franco's fall from grace is a HUGE indictment of the Phillies coaching expertise. Franco and Dominic Brown were the two guys the Phils nurtured, coaxed, promoted and sold to their phans.

And both have flamed out. There is certainly some personal responsibility involved but, gosh, this has to be viewed as a Phillie issue as much as it is a Franco issue.

[julio]

And, truth be told, I think Franco's fall from grace is a HUGE indictment of the Phillies coaching expertise.

It's worth noting here that there were more than a few scouts who were concerned about Franco's long-term prospects, when he came up - remember the "arm-bar swing" questions? I think it's an open question whether Franco has "failed" to reach his ceiling, or whether some fan expectations were less than realistic. Maybe an OPS in the low .700s with middling 3B defense is what we should have expected - there certainly were those who voiced that, four/five years ago.

[zambonir]

I'm not that surprised, at least one of the beat writers discussed this possible roster crunch. He is the only optionable player. The alternative (for now) would have been losing Rodriguez on waivers, but he may still be the one to go next anyway, especially if they are committed to playing Kingery at 3B every day ('cause then you can't send down Haseley). Granted Rodriguez is nothing special but he is more versatile than Franco (and has the exact same numbers, except w/o the negative WAR). And supposedly loved in the clubhouse too. Most of the guys on this team have only played with Franco for one year (and very few for more than two), he may be well-liked but so is Rodriguez from what I gather.

I would also look at this as a good thing, given how streaky Franco is, and how he has sometimes responded to benchings. Maybe he comes back and helps in September, fights for a playoff spot on the longer bench. It's no different than when they sent Neris down.

I own a Franco shirsey and was really excited by his apparent comeback, but the guy has been mostly terrible when you include his defense. I know we get fond of our players, especially our minor leaguers, and then just assume the Phillies screwed them up, and I guess I prefer that to the "he stinks" reflex of many sports radio callers, but sometimes it actually is the players. And right now it's just the quirk of roster rules and no August trade deadline. (Honestly if there was an August trade deadline they'd probably still acquire a 3B.)

[phillychuck]

Trade him for what?

Traded him EARLIER. When he had some trade value, albeit minimal. They could have gotten something pretty good for him in late April...

[zambonir]

Eh, I don't think so. Trades in April are extremely rare, and who needed a 3B then that didn't need one in February? Most of the teams filled their 3B needs while the Phillies were still considering Machado. And what would the Phillies have actually done without Franco (easy to say they could have made Kingery the 3B now).

Also, while they do exist most GMs aren't dumb enough to trade based on four hot weeks. Everyone knows who Franco is. Especially these days when most analytics front offices value most players the same way.

I would have liked to see Franco and Williams packaged for something but I'm not sure that something would have been better than a Parker or a Vargas.

[Austinfan]

Thing was, Franco has always been a tease, if he could put it together he'd be a solid 3B, but this year is a perfect example, hot start then he reverted back to his usual pattern, overswinging, trying to pull breaking balls, chasing pitches. None of this is new, and they've been trying to get him to change for about three years now.

It may well be what he needs to save his career, the wake up call to listen to his coaches and focus as a hitter. He has a quick bat, good power, but he's his own worst enemy.

[DurhamBull]

Trade him for what?

Traded him EARLIER. When he had some trade value, albeit minimal. They could have gotten something pretty good for him in late April...

I agree in hindsight but it would have been a bold move to trade the opening day starting 3B who was starting off well and nominate Kingery the starting 3B.

[California_Dreamin]

If you had told me in April that Franco and Williams were both in Triple A come August I would have believed this Phillie team must hitting up a storm. And yet the very opposite is taking place. This Phillie team seems almost completely incapable of manufacturing runs, a malady that likely will cost them a playoff berth, and I believe, Kapler his job.

[zambonir]

Yes, another good point. In April nobody was saying "let's get something for Mikey before he reverts" and play the guy who was the worst hitter in the majors in 2018 instead. It was more like, "why isn't he hitting higher in the order?"

In addition to not being useful off the bench in general is reverse split gives him a terrible OPS (.629) against LHP this year. Rodriguez's is .974.

[phillychuck]

So far Phils are being outscored 5-0 without Franco, and Iron Pigs are up 3-0, even though he's not playing. I see a definitive trend.

[zambonir]

He should have been the starting pitcher

(I'm sure Mikey is going to take his 72 hours too)

[allentown]

We also saw Franco's predecessor, Asche, flame out. And Williams. And Knapp. Maybe our best position prospects, apart from Hoskins and Kingery, have been nothing more than roughly once-around-the-league type talents. Odubel, apart from the off-field stuff, also fell apart rather abruptly after a very promising start to his career. I really think there must be something going on here with the quality of instruction.