The Royals will non-tender third baseman Maikel Franco, making him a free agent, according to MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand. The 28-year old hit .278/.321/.457 with eight home runs in 60 games. He was non-tendered last off-season by the Phillies, allowing the Royals to sign him to a one-year deal.
Franco was the sixth-most valuable third baseman by WAR, according to Fangraphs. But according to estimates by MLB Trade Rumors, he was due to make between $4.5 and $8 million next season in his last year of arbitration. Dayton Moore told reporters earlier this week that the team was “likely that we move on from certain players because their financial expectation doesn’t align with what we can do in other areas based on this market.