LOL, Phillies trying to get him on that bargain contract because they know what is to come. Would be pretty shocked to see him agree to this, but hey I guess they think it's worth a shot...
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Breaking: The Phillies have offered 3B Maikel Franco a Six-Year, $39-Million deal.
The six-year, $39 million deal would be similar to what the Tampa Bay Rays did with then-rookie third baseman Evan Longoria in 2008 by signing him to a long-term deal, buying out arbitration before it arrived and guaranteeing significant money to a player without a long track record. In return for doing this with Franco, the Phillies would get cost certainty on a player currently tearing up spring training and coming off a big rookie season.
During Tuesday's edition of ESPN's Baseball Tonight Podcast, Jayson Stark relayed what a MLB scout recently said about Franco.
"I had a scout predict to me that if he plays 130 games this year, he will hit 35 home runs," Stark said. "I kinda laughed at first, but I then I went back and took another look at his season last year. He got called up in May, took a little time to settle in, but then from June 1st on, this was his slash line: .302/.368/.537/.905. This was in almost 300 plate appearances. That would basically make him Jose Abreu. In fact, Giancarlo Stanton's career OPS is .909, and Maikel Franco was .905 from June 1 on last year."
That production included a breakout series at Yankee Stadium in which Franco hit 3 homers and drove in 10 runs. If not for a wrist injury in August, Franco could have become just the fourth 22-year-old third baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season over the last decade. The others? Manny Machado, Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval.
"Look, he's not going to be Giancarlo Stanton," Stark clarified, catching himself before the hype train took off. "And if you look at the rest of that Phillies lineup, I'm not sure why anyone would ever give him an opportunity to be, but I do think this is a guy with serious talent. He was my (ESPN) pick for breakout player of the year. He's a legit talent, loves to play and is really settling in and realizing how good he is."