The Phillies were hoping Maikel Franco could be a serviceable third baseman this year. The thought was that there would be less pressure on him to produce thanks to the additions made during the offseason, allowing him to succeed in a less prominent role.
To put it mildly, that did not happen as Franco has struggled mightily this season. In 110 games, he has a .236/.299/.415 line and -0.5 wins above replacement. His hot first two weeks of the season is the only thing keeping his numbers from being even worse. Franco was demoted to Triple-A in August, and this will likely be his last year as a Phillie.