Philadelphia avoids arbitration with Franco and Garcia
The Phillies and third baseman Maikel Franco avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year worth $2.95 million deal, the Philadelphia Baseball Review confirmed with multiple sources on Friday. The club also avoided arbitration with reliever Luis Garcia, agreeing to a deal worth $1.2 million.

Franco, 25, hit .230 with 24 home runs and 76 RBIs last season. It was the worst of his first three full big-league seasons, featuring lows in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging. He also struggled at times in the field, committing a career-high 15 errors.

Despite the downward turn, the Phillies remain optimistic that Franco can turn things around.

"We need his bat and he has the skillset to be a dependable major leaguer," new manager Gabe Kapler said last month during the Winter Meetings. "I have faith."

As for Garcia, the 30-year-old righthander pieced together his best year last season, posting a 2.65 ERA in 66 appearances to go along with a 1.22 WHIP.

The lone arbitration-eligible player yet to strike a deal with the Phillies is Cesar Hernandez. Figures will be exchanged between the two sides later on Friday and if an agreement isn't reached the case will move to an arbitration hearing next month, if needed. The two sides can settle at any time before a hearing.

The Phillies avoided arbitration with Cameron Rupp yesterday, coming to terms on a one-year deal worth $2.05 million.
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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