Franco signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League on Thursday, Gaijin Baseball reports.
Franco has struggled in the majors the last two seasons and was ultimately released by the Nationals late in the 2022 campaign. He'll now head overseas in an attempt to revitalize his career. Given that Franco is 30 years old, he may find any future opportunities in the MLB difficult to come by.
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Maikel Franco: Let go by Washington
Rotowire
Franco was released by the Nationals on Friday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.
Franco has operated as Washington's primary third baseman for most of the season, but he hasn't started a game since Aug. 14 and has now been released. The 29-year-old has a .229/.255/.342 slash line with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 103 games this year.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Losing playing time
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs.
Franco is on the bench for the fourth time in seven games and looks to have moved into the No. 2 role at third base behind Ildemaro Vargas. Given the limited defensive flexibility Franco offers in a backup role, he could be in danger of getting designated for assignment if the Nationals need to clear room on the 40-man roster at any point in the final six weeks of the season.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Not starting Sunday
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.
Franco has alternated starts at third base with Ildemaro Vargas over the past five games, and that trend will continue Sunday after Franco went 1-for-4 with a strikeout during Saturday's contest. Vargas is 6-for-9 in three games since having his contract selected by Washington on Aug. 1, and Franco's playing time could dwindle further if Vargas continues to play well.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Steps out of lineup
Rotowire
Franco is not in the lineup Friday's game against the Phillies, Bobby Blanco of MASN Nationals reports.
Franco is 3-for-27 with a run and a stolen base since the All-Star break and will head to the bench Friday for the second time in the past three games. Ildemaro Vargas will start at the hot corner and could see more consistent playing time going forward given Franco's struggles.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Collects first steal of season
Rotowire
Franco went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.
The 29-year-old stayed right on schedule in the stolen base department -- Franco's never swiped more than one bag in a season, but he's recorded that one steal in every even-numbered year since 2016 while skipping the odd-numbered years in between. His .598 OPS is the worst mark of his career, however, and he's found himself on the bench for five of the last 11 games as a result. As the Nationals add more young infielders like CJ Abrams to the roster down the stretch, Franco's playing time could dwindle even further.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Riding pine Wednesday
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting Wednesday against the Mets.
Franco started the last two games and went 0-for-7 with a strikeout. He'll get a breather while Ildemaro Vargas starts at the hot corner and bats ninth.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Sitting again Sunday
Rotowire
Franco is not in the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Cardinals.
Franco is 2-for-18 with five strikeouts since the All-Star break and will head to the bench Sunday for the fourth time in the past seven games. Ehire Adrianza will receive another start at the hot corner for the Nationals.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Heads to bench Friday
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.
Franco has a .439 OPS through 17 games in July and will take a seat Friday for the third time in Washington's past five contests. Ehire Adrianza will receive another start at the hot corner, though his .537 OPS in July hardly gives him much of an edge for playing time over Franco.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Riding pine Monday
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting Monday against the Dodgers.
Franco went 1-for-6 with two strikeouts over the two games following the All-Star break, but he'll be held out of the starting nine for a second consecutive matchup Monday. Ehire Adrianza is starting at third base and batting eighth.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Arizona.
Franco is 1-for-6 in the first two games out of the All-Star break and will take a seat Sunday. Ehire Adrianza will start at the hot corner Sunday.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Swats eighth homer
Rotowire
Franco went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's loss to Atlanta.
With the Nationals down 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Franco made things interesting by taking Atlanta closer Kenley Jansen deep for a solo shot, but the comeback fell short. It was Franco's first homer in July and eighth of the year to go along with a poor .234/.264/.359 slash line through 84 games, but Washington's lack of alternatives at the hot corner should keep the 29-year-old in the lineup.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Not in lineup for Game 2
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mariners, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Franco started in the first game of the doubleheader and went 0-for-2 during the loss. He'll get a breather while Ehire Adrianza starts at the hot corner and bats seventh.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Takes seat Saturday
Rotowire
Franco isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Atlanta.
Franco started in the last two games and went 1-for-6 with a run, an RBI and a strikeout. However, Ehire Adrianza will take over at the hot corner and bat ninth Saturday.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Riding pine Wednesday
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Phillies.
Franco is getting a day off after he went 1-for-15 with a run, two walks and four strikeouts over the last five games. Ehire Adrianza will take over at the hot corner and bat eighth.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Checks out of lineup
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.
Ehire Adrianza will step in at third base as a replacement for Franco, who is on the bench for the second time in four games. Franco has gone hitless with five strikeouts in 11 at-bats over his last three starts and could begin to lose out on playing time more frequently if he's unable to turn things around soon.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Gets Wednesday off
Rotowire
Franco is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Ehire Adrianza picks up a start at third base while Franco sits after going 2-for-11 with a home run and two RBI while he was in the lineup for each of Washington's last three contests. Franco owns an unremarkable .649 OPS over 294 plate appearances on the season, but he doesn't appear to be in imminent danger of losing hold of an everyday role.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Slugs game-winning homer
Rotowire
Franco went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's 3-2 win over the Pirates.
Franco delivered the game's most decisive play in the eighth inning, when he took reliever Chris Stratton deep with two outs to give Washington the lead. He'll make his third straight start Tuesday, covering third base while batting fifth.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: Takes seat Saturday
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting Saturday against the Rangers, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Franco went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts during Friday's win over Texas, and he'll be held out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Ehire Adrianza is starting at the hot corner and batting ninth.
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Nationals' Maikel Franco: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Franco isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Franco is receiving a rare day off after he went 2-for-10 with a homer, three RBI, two runs and two walks over the last three games. Ehire Adrianza is starting at the hot corner and batting ninth.
