Seattle Mariners prospect Nick Franklin has been mentioned heavily in trade rumors leading up to Opening Day and teams like the Detroit Tigers, NY Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees are potential trade partners for the second baseman that also can play shortstop.
The Mariners brought up Franklin last season along with Brad Miller and since both played shortstop, Franklin was moved to second base where he was relatively solid and hit for power. Franklin fell off average wise at the end of the season, but in his rookie year that was to be expected and he was slotted as the starting second baseman this season. Then the Mariners signed Robinson Cano and that obviously changed everything, because Franklin no longer had a position and with Miller firmly planted at shortstop, he was left to wonder what his role would be.
The Mariners have had Miller and Franklin competing for the starting SS job all spring and while both have played well, it's Miller who has been getting the nod and Franklin is the one being mentioned in trade rumors. According to Hardball Talk and CBS Sports, the Mets, Rays and Orioles are all interested in a deal and now add the Tigers to that list, as their shortstop Jose Iglesias is out for the beginning of the season and he will start on the DL.
The report says that Iglesias has stress fractures and that he could miss a large chunk of the season and that has sparked rumors involving the Tigers with Stephen Drew, Franklin and Jimmy Rollins. According to Hardball Talk, the Tigers are looking at Drew, but they don't want to give up a draft pick to sign him, while the Phillies may be in a tough situation, since Rollins said he won't waive his no-trade clause for now and one reason may be that he is 60 hits from the all-time Philadelphia hits record.
The Mariners have a solid young core and they like Franklin very much, but since he doesn't have a position right now and Miller is playing well at shirt, they could look to move him instead and get a decent return. That will be the biggest issue for the Mariners, as they will not just give up Franklin, who has been one of the most highly touted players in their organization for a number of years. Franklin hit .287 in the minors and .267 to start his major career, but he fell off with .172 over the final couple months of the season and that will be what teams look at when they wonder about trading for him or not.
The Tigers brought in Iglesias last season in a trade with the Red Sox after Jhonny Peralta was suspended and now he could miss a significant chunk of time this season. Drew is a prime option and he has been on the market for months after getting a qualifying offer and he comes in after hitting .253 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs in 124 games last season and that draft pick is the biggest issue. The Mariners and Tigers could look to deal and they would likely want pitching in any trade for Franklin.
