Maikel Antonio Franco (pronounced MY-kehl FRAHN-koh; born August 26, 1992), is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He has played in the

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He made his MLB debut with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 2014 and played for them through 2019. He has also played for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in 2020, the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in 2021, and the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

in 2022.

Career

Minor leagues

Franco was born in

Azua, Dominican Republic Azua de Compostela, also known simply as Azua, is a municipality (''municipio'') and capital of Azua Province in the southern region of Dominican Republic. Founded in 1504, Azua is one of the oldest European settlements in the Americas. The town i ...

. He signed with the

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2010. He received a $100,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Franco made his professional debut for the

Gulf Coast Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

that year. He played in 52 games and hit .222/.292/.330 with two

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. In 2011, he played for the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a ...

and

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

. He played in 71 games, hitting .247/.318/.360 with three home runs. He returned to Lakewood in 2012 and spent the entire season there. He hit .280/.336/.439 with 14 home runs in 132 games. Franco started the 2013 season with the High-A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

. He was promoted to the Double-A

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

in June. He finished the season hitting .320/.356/.569 with 31 home runs. After the season, he won the Paul Owens Award as the Phillies Minor League Player of the Year. Prior to the 2014 season, Franco was ranked by

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

and ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball. The Phillies invited him to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

where he competed with

Cody Asche Cody James Asche ( ; born June 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. After growing up in ...

for the starting third base job. He was sent to the minors on March 23, after Asche won the job. Franco started the season with the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, hitting .257/.299/.428 with 16 home runs. In 2019 with Lehigh Valley he batted .175/.283/.425 with two home runs and six RBIs in 40 at bats.

Philadelphia Phillies

Franco was called up to the majors for the first time on September 2, 2014, and made his major league debut that day against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. During his initial stint in the majors in 2014, Franco hit .179/.190/.214 with no home runs and 5 RBIs. Maikel Franco (18878714995) (cropped)

Franco began the 2015 season with the Triple-A

. He was called up to the Phillies to be their starting third baseman on May 15, after hitting .355 with four home runs and 24 RBIs with the IronPigs. He hit his first career major league home run on May 17 against Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher

Randall Delgado Randall Enrique Delgado (born February 9, 1990) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. Professional career Atlant ...

. 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. On August 4, he hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He was placed on the 15-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on August 18 with a small

wrist fracture A distal radius fracture, also known as wrist fracture, is a break of the part of the radius bone which is close to the wrist. Symptoms include pain, bruising, and rapid-onset swelling. The ulna bone may also be broken. In younger people, thes ...

, but he returned to play the last three games of the year. In 2015, he batted .280/.343/.497. In 2016, he batted .255/.306/.427 with a career-high 25 home runs. In 2017 he batted .230/.281/.409 with 24 home runs. In 2018 he batted .270/.314/.467 with 22 home runs and 68 RBIs. He was the only player in major league baseball with 20 or more home runs and 62 or fewer strikeouts, and he had 20 or more home runs for the third straight season. On defense, he had the lowest Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating of all NL third basemen, at -12. On March 29, 2019, Franco hit a home run on Opening Day against the

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...

. He was optioned to Triple-A on August 4. 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). On December 2, 2019 Franco was non-tendered by the Phillies, making him a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

On December 27, 2019, Franco signed a one-year $2.95 million deal with the

. Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Franco batted .278 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs in 60 games. On December 2, Franco was nontendered by the Royals. Mikael Franco (cropped)

Baltimore Orioles

On March 16, 2021, Franco signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the

. In 104 games for the Orioles in 2021, Franco hit .210 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI's. On August 23, Franco was designated for assignment by the Orioles. On August 25, Franco was released by the Orioles.

Atlanta Braves

After his release by the Orioles, on August 31, 2021, the

signed Franco to a minor league contract. Franco played in 10 games for the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, hitting .286. He became a free agent following the season.

Washington Nationals

On December 12, 2021, Franco signed a minor league contract with the

. On April 7, 2022, Franco's contract was selected by the Nationals, adding him to their opening day roster. On August 26, 2022, Franco was released by the Nationals and became a free agent.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On December 1, 2022, Franco signed with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Maikel 1992 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Clearwater Threshers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gigantes del Cibao players Florida Complex League Orioles players Florida Complex League Phillies players Kansas City Royals players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball third basemen Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Fightin Phils players Washington Nationals players Williamsport Crosscutters players