Phillies Option Maikel Franco to Triple-A on His Birthday to Make Room for Bryce Harper
By Parker White
A few days ago, the Philadelphia Phillies placed star outfielder Bryce Harper on the paternity list. Harper and his wife, Kayla, welcomed their first child into the world and now the former NL MVP is ready to return.
That means someone needs to be optioned off the roster on Monday, which ended up being third baseman Maikel Franco. To make the news even worse, it's Franco's 27th birthday today.
The Phillies optioned Maikel Franco back to triple A to make room for Bryce Harper. Today is Franco’s 27th birthday.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) August 26, 2019
There's no doubt that Franco has played poorly enough to be sent down, but it's just unfortunately this is how the timing worked out. Back to Lehigh for your 27th birthday? Not the greatest news.
Maikel Franco optioned to Triple-A https://t.co/AIhfKnNApS via @toomuchtuma #fantasybaseball
— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsMLB) August 26, 2019
In 105 games with the big league club, Franco is slashing .233/.299/.407 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI. Philadelphia was hoping he'd become the third baseman of the future, but this is his sixth MLB season and he's proven to be a below average player.