The NY Mets have been keeping tabs on both Nick Franklin and Brad Miller this spring and the Seattle Mariners could deal either player to the As Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, NY Yankees or Toronto Blue Jays ahead of Opening Day if the right package comes along, as all those teams have needs at either shortstop or second base.
Franklin has been the subject of numerous rumors because he played second base for the Mariners last season and with Robinson Cano coming in, he was obviously booted aside from his starting position. But Franklin came up as a shortstop and for some teams he could be looked at to play that position, while second base would be a fit as well and according to Hardball Talk, that is why the Baltimore Orioles are interested in possibly making a move for the young star, who is just 22 years old and has plenty of upside.
According to CBS Sports, the Mets and Rays are also interested in Franklin and Adam Rubin from ESPN.com reported that Tampa Bay and Seattle nearly had a deal for the second baseman, but it came apart after Jeremy Hellickson was injured and that should show a clear picture of what the Mariners are hoping to get out of a deal: starting pitching. The Orioles have that in spades and the Mariners need it, as both Taijuan Walker and Hisashi Iwakuma were injured this spring and now it looks like neither player will be ready to start in the rotation when Opening Day rolls around.
The Orioles have good reason to be interested, as Hardball Talk writes that their main options at the position right now are Jemile Weeks, Ryan Flaherty, Jonathan Schoop and Alexi Casilla and despite his lack of experience, Franklin would be an upgrade over all of those players. Franklin showed good power and speed last season, but he fell off at the end of the year and it looks like any deal that goes down will need to involve starting pitching going back to Seattle. Miller could be in the mix as well, but right now he is playing well in the spring and he could be in line to firmly win the shortstop job and that would push Franklin aside.
Robinson Cano is a very durable player, so the Mariners don't need a backup option per se at the position, but they will not just give him up for nothing. Franklin is part of that Mariners young core that the team hopes will break out and now he could get a chance, but it might be on another team. Franklin has done his part, as he is hitting over .300 this spring and while second base is his best position, the Mets likely would want him as a shortstop over Rueben Tejada.
The Yankees could get in the mix, but for now they like Brian Roberts at second base despite his inability to stay healthy in recent years. Franklin hit 12 home runs last season and he could be a very good option for these teams at either position, but Seattle should be careful: look what happened when they traded Michael Pineda for Jesus Montero; that was one of the worst trades. EVER.
