Royals cut loose third baseman Maikel Franco at non-tender deadline
Third baseman Maikel Franco’s tenure with the Kansas City Royals may be over after just one pandemic-shortened season that featured games played without fans in attendance.
The Royals non-tendered Franco as well as minor-league shortstop Jeison Guzman, infielder/outfielder Erick Mejia and outfielder and former Kansas high school multi-sport star Bubba Starling prior to Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. CT deadline.
Left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin and right-handed pitcher Carlos Sanabria were designated for assignment earlier in the week, and neither were tendered major-league contracts. All six players are now free agents.
Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and ace pitcher Brad Keller were both tendered contracts, though they have not yet agreed to terms with the club. They’re each arbitration eligible for the first time.
Franco, 28, signed as a free agent last winter after the Philadelphia Phillies non-tendered him. He agreed to a base salary of $2.95 million with the Royals in 2020. He was eyeing a potentially-substantial pay raise in his third year being arbitration eligible.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore did not completely shut the door on Franco returning to the club on a free-agent contract, though the Royals certainly seemed poised to explore other options.
“Maikel did an amazing job for us, but looking at our internal options and players that are potentially available to us on the market, we felt that it was best to stay open-minded at that position right now,” Moore said. “But we would certainly consider bringing him back.”
This season, Franco battled a leg injury which hobbled him on the base paths for a large portion of this summer. Although he still started in all 60 games (eight as designated hitter, one at first base) for the Royals.
Franco, who posted a slash line of .278/.321/.457 with eight home runs, 38 RBIs and tied for the third-most doubles (16) in the American League. That served as a bounce-back season for the right-handed hitting former top prospect.
From 2015-18, Franco averaged 21 home runs, 23 doubles and 70 RBIs per season with a slash line of .255/.306/.442.
However in 2019, his production dropped off and he slashed .234/.297/.409. The Phillies even demoted him to Triple-A at one point.
Starling, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, is a local product and fan favorite. The former three-sport standout at Gardner Edgerton High School was non-tendered by the Royals prior to the 2019 season, but he signed a free-agent deal to remain in the organization.
Starling, Guzman, Mejia and Griffin all remain likely candidates to return to the Royals as free agents.
Big bats retained
The Royals agreed to terms with a pair of right-handed hitting sluggers in infielder/outfielder Hunter Dozier and designated hitter/outfielder Jorge Soler on Wednesday. Both avoided arbitration by signing deals.
Dozier agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.72 million, while Soler garnered a one-year deal for $8.05 million plus up to $250,000 in performance bonuses, according to a source with knowledge of the deals.
Dozier, 29, got a late start to the season after he contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus. He missed the first 16 games, and he made his season debut until August 9. He still led the Royals with 27 walks and ranked third on the team with 29 runs scored. He posted a slash line of .228/.344/.392 with six home runs and 12 RBIs in 44 games.
Dozier slashed .279/.348/.533 in 2019 to go along with career highs in home runs (26), RBIs (84), runs (75), doubles (29) and triples (10). He started 100 games at third base that season and was finalist for the starting spot on the AL All-Star after fan voting.
Soler, 28, had two stints on the injured list which marred his 2020 season. He played in 43 games and tied for the third-most home runs (eight) on the Royals. The 2019 AL home run champion, Soler hit five homers in the first 16 games this summer.
Soler, who played through an oblique injury for part of the season, posted a slash line of .228/.326/.443.
Like Dozier, Soler also enjoyed a career-year in 2019. Soler played in all 162 games in 2019 and hit 48 home runs, recorded 117 RBIs and a .265/.354/.569 slash line.
