Franco to the Farm!

In a shocking move, the Phillies have just optioned third baseman Maikel Franco to the minor leagues to make room for utility guy Brad Miller who had been on the injured list.

This move is shocking since Franco has been in the majors since 2014, but has struggled all season. He was hitting .231 with a paltry .296 OBP. Since April 30, Franco is hitting just .218 with a .272 OBP and a .626 OPS with 8 homers in those 74 games. And he's basically only able to play third base. He can probably play first, but Rhys Hoskins is already there. For his career, Franco has hit .249 with a .302 OBP.

Looks like Franco's inconsistency finally caught up with him and the team decided to take action. So as of right now, the Phillies bench includes Sean Rodriguez, Brad Miller, Andrew Knapp, Corey Dickerson, and Roman Quinn, even though Quinn and Dickerson are starting today. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Jay Bruce comes back from the IL.

Here's today's lineup: