Fantasy Baseball 2018: Maikel Franco to San Diego?

The Padres may be looking to make an upgrade at third base and Maikel Franco is at the top of their list. What would the fantasy baseball impact be?

The San Diego Padres have not been a competitive team for many seasons but that doesn’t stop them from making moves in order to improve. There have been multiple reports, stemming from Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, that the Padres are interested in third baseman Maikel Franco. What kind of ripple effect would that have on fantasy baseball?

The Padres wanted to solve their third base problems by acquiring veteran Chase Headley in the offseason but that experiment went south very quickly. He hit .115 with four RBIs in 52 at-bats and was eventually cut.

The team then lucked out with rookie Christian Villanueva. He is hitting .230 with 16 home runs, 37 RBIs and a .300 on-base percentage. Though, he’s regressed in each month this season. He hit .321 in April, .170 in May and .186 in June. His slugging percentage dropped about 200 points in each month.

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The point is, the Padres need another bat in the infield. Franco doesn’t have the same power potential as Villanueva, only nine home runs, but he has a higher season batting average at .255. Though, his numbers are also declining each month.

The Padres are looking for a long-term option at the hot corner and Franco could be that answer. With Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer leading the offense, adding Franco could boost the offense. However, Petco Park isn’t a hitter-friendly park so expect more doubles than home runs.

If the Philadelphia Phillies were to part with Franco, they would need to make another trade to fill that spot. They have in-house options like JP Crawford and Scott Kingery but they are also struggling this season.

The Phillies could trade for Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado (who wants to remain at shortstop) or Adrian Beltre. The Phillies have shown interest in Beltre. Adding any of those bats to the lineup with Carlos Santana, Rhys Hoskins and a red-hot Odubel Herrera will keep them in the division race.

Many teams have been eyeing the Padres bullpen, especially Brad Hand, Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen. The Phillies have had their issues in their bullpen as they recently demoted Hector Neris so adding them will provide more depth in the second half.

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Franco will lose a lot of value if he does go to San Diego. The offense is not as good and the park favors pitchers more than Citizens Bank Park. He will stay in the National League, so those owners in NL-only leagues won’t lose another player in an already shallow position. I expect a lot of action at the deadline featuring players of all levels and Franco may be one of them.

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