By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco — once considered one of the club's untouchable assets as it seeks to return to contention — may be on the trading block after all, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
Franco, who turns 25 two months from Monday, is reportedly "more than available," per Cafardo, who writes:
Once one of the Phillies’ untouchables, the 24-year-old third baseman is more than available, according to a major league source. Franco has had a poor season, hitting .227 with eight homers and 36 RBIs. His game has really gone downhill after showing so much promise last season when he hit 25 homers and knocked in 88 runs.
The four-year veteran is batting .224/.284/.371 this season with 11 doubles, nine home runs, 37 RBIs, 22 walks and 40 strikeouts spanning 68 games and 285 plate appearances. Franco's 14 grounded into double plays are the most in baseball.
In 82 plate appearances with runners in scoring position this season, Franco is batting .214/.293/.329 with 11 singles, two doubles, two home runs, 28 RBIs, eight walks and 18 strikeouts. The Dominican Republic native's six errors are the third-most among qualified National League third baseman, behind the Arizona Diamondbacks' Jake Lamb (7) and the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant (7).
That just will not cut it on what general manager Matt Klentak hopes to be an imminently-contending team.
Franco has shown he can produce in the past, however. He began the first month of the season with two grand slams, the first to accomplish such feat in franchise history. Also, 35.8 percent of Franco's 301 career hits have gone for extra-bases, with 58 doubles, two triples and 48 home runs.
If Franco is traded, it would not be to facilitate the promotion of a readied prospect at the hot corner. The only third baseman on the club's MLB.com Top 30 prospects list is 19-year-old Cole Stobbe, who has yet to play beyond the A- level. Ty Kelly, Andres Blanco and Howie Kendrick could split time at third to finish out 2017 if a trade were to occur.
Time will tell whether Franco will continue donning red pinstripes beyond next month's non-waiver trade deadline.
