Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies demoted third baseman Cody Asche to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, so he could begin his transition to left field. With Asche being sent down, it was only a matter of time before the Phillies called up third baseman Maikel Franco.
Today, the Phillies called up Franco as they will be looking for him to provide an offensive spark at the hot corner. This season at Triple-A, he hit .355 with four home runs and 24 RBI in 33 games.
Last season, Franco spent 16 games with the Phillies and only batted .179 with five RBI and 16 strikeouts. Before his call up last season, he hit 16 home runs, drove in 78 RBI and batted .257 in Triple-A. With Franco now being with the big league club for the foreseeable future, this is his chance to prove that he deserves to be an everyday starter.
Finally, let’s not forget this little nugget of info as noted by Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors. With the Phillies calling up Franco today he will be one day short of a full year of service. If you remember, earlier this season the Chicago Cubs did the same thing to Kris Bryant before calling him up.
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