<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Maikel to Royals. 3M. Plus 1M incentives.</p>&mdash; Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1207751982401892352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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The buzz on Twitter is that the Royals are about to sign Maikel Franco. Bad news for O'Hearn I'd imagine.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Third baseman Maikel Franco and the Kansas City Royals are in agreement on a one-year, $3 million deal, sources tell ESPN. He is expected to be the everyday third baseman. My man <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseSanchezMLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JesseSanchezMLB</a> had Franco to Royals first.</p>&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1207752918348247042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Also Chicago White Sox sign Cheslor Cuthbert to a minor league deal.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Maikel Franco - 2019 .234 AVG, 17 HRs, in 389 at bats.

Franco -0.5 fWAR. A free swinger who never walks, has some pop, and who nobody wants. Sounds like a typical Dayton pickup. Where does Dozier play?

Dozier going to be a RF or 1B it looks like. I would prefer him at 1B long term.

I don't know shit about Franco, but why is this bad news for O'Hearn? Would they move Franco to 1B?

Dozier

As a sportscard collector, I know this guy was a pretty big deal (his cards were desireable) as a prospect a few years back. Don't know what happened since then though.

He was also sent back to minors last year, where he turned things around with a .175 AVG. Maybe a brilliant move that I just can't see. Mecca mentioned that we should look at 3B Travis Shaw. That seems like a pretty good idea now.

I'm no expert, but I've seen a lot of Phillies baseball in the last few years. Franco's a real frustrating guy; very streaky with the bat, fun guy to have around, no range at all at 3B but quick hands and a pretty good gun. He'll do something great/stupid once in a while.

Believe he got hurt while down there - only had 40 ABs.

For the money, I would have preferred to see them jump in on Justin Smoak if they were going after a corner bat, but he also might have wanted to play for a more competitive team in a better hitters park (Brewers check both boxes).

Don’t love it, like it, or hate it. It’s just kind of a running-in-place deal.

Well if I had a vote, which I of course don't, I'd vote "NAY".

I wanted to see what Royals have with Hunter Dozier at 3B. Maybe Kelvin Gutierrez too.

Any free agent money spent, I wanted in pitching.

They’ve had long looks at Dozier at 3B. His defense there isn’t the best. I think his future is either RF or 1B.

Franco should not block ABs for O’Hearn for at least the first few months. If it does, that’s a real issue.