I'm a big fan of Franklin and I think he's going to be a great shortstop of the future. He had a pretty good year for a 22 year old rookie and was a top 100 prospect for two years. I'd like to see the Twins enter the mix since he is being shopped around. I imagine the Mariners would want some outfield prospects in return. Maybe you start with Kepler and Berrios?

He only out-hit Florimon by 4 points (.225 versus .221) and had only one more RBI (45 to 44). Not worth the defensive downgrade.

 

No, I'm kidding. He looks like he'll hit, and those aren't the stats I'd look at anyway, and then there's the age difference. But there do seem to be questions about his defense at SS, and I'm sure the Mariners are hoping for a lot more than the out-of-options fifth-starter types that we'd like to trade away. Since there's no current need for a 2B replacement, I don't see a fit here.

I thought I had read the asking price was REALLY high too.

If the Twins have any promise in the infield it's at 2B, I'm not sure what the interest in Franklin would be. The Mariners mainly want to get a decent pitching prospect back in return, I wouldn't part with what it would take to get him.

Because we don't need a Second Baseman.

 

Don't kid yourself, Franklin can't play SS (or shouldn't, depending on the tone you like). I'd rather have Brad Miller from the Mariners. He's not a super-glove either, but he's way better than Franklin and suitable for SS, and has shown he can hit. Reminds me a lot of the "good" Jason Bartlett.

Edited March 14, 201412 yr by Steve Lein

I think the issue as others have stated is that he's not good enough to play SS, only 2B. Otherwise, I would totally agree with you.