One of the Giants' big offseason goals is to find an everyday third baseman.
That search appears to have included checking in with the Phillies on Maikel Franco.
According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Giants "were sniffing around" the 25-year-old third baseman during the Winter Meetings last week in Orlando.
This might be why Giants were sniffing around on Maikel Franco at meetings. Moore https://t.co/VkES3ZYHLU— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) December 16, 2017
Franco burst onto the scene at the end of the 2015 season with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 80 games. He backed that up with 25 home runs and 88 RBI in 2016.
But the 2017 season was a mixed bag for Franco. He managed to hit 24 home runs and drove in 76 runs, but his average fell all the way to .230 with an OBP of .281 and a slugging percentage of .409.
Sports
Franco is under team control through the 2021 season.
No word if the Giants and Phillies actually talked about a deal or if an offer was ever made.
At this moment, Pablo Sandoval is penciled in as the Giants' starting third baseman, manager Bruce Bochy told NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic. But the Giants would prefer to use Sandoval in a utility role.
