Phillies are not ready just yet to demote Maikel Franco
“We believe in him," GM Matt Klentak says.
MIAMI - Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said Wednesday that the team is committed to giving Maikel Franco more time to snap his slump. His comments came a day after manager Pete Mackanin said there were discussions about sending Franco to the minor leagues.
"We believe in him. We have confidence that he will [break out]. There are a lot of indicators, whether you're looking at his exit velocities and launch angles," Klentak said on Comcast SportsNet's pregame show. "Again, I don't want to say he's been a victim of bad luck by itself — it's not the only thing but there are reasons to believe he can get out this. It could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, we don't know. But we're committed to showing confidence in this kid and finding out what he can do and that's really the end of it. Right now, he's important to us and we need to show confidence in him and let him go out there and play."
Franco went 2 for 4 Wednesday after sitting out Tuesday with a fever. It was his first multi-hit game since May 19 and just second since May 4. He has four hits in his last 22 at-bats since Mackanin benched him last week for two games. Franco is batting .216 for the season.