August 18, 2015
When Maikel Franco got drilled in the wrist by a fastball last week in Arizona, things initially looked pretty bad. After the X-rays on that wrist came back negative, it seemed as if the 22-year-old third baseman was pretty fortunate. Franco hasn’t played since that night, and now it seems as if the injury is worse than previously expected:
#Phillies have placed 3B Maikel Franco on the 15-day DL with a fractured left wrist and recalled OF Aaron Altherr from @IronPigs.
— Phillies (@Phillies) August 18, 2015
What makes this development at least somewhat surprising is that the Phillies previously announced Franco had suffered a wrist contusion. According to general manager Ruben Amaro, there is a chance the injury is serious enough that the rest of Franco’s season could be in jeopardy:
Franco has a "very small non-displaced fracture," Amaro said, "in a very small bone outside his left wrist." Unsure if he'll return in 2015.
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 18, 2015
From an organizational standpoint, the news is especially tough because Franco is a promising everyday player who could potentially be in Philadelphia throughout the team’s entire rebuilding process. For Franco, any chance of the Rookie of the Year award also probably vanishes after missing an extended period of time. He is hitting .277/.340/.490 in 296 at-bats this year.
A 24-year-old outfielder, Altherr was hitting .293/.367/.487 between stops at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
