Phillies’ Maikel Franco Posed to Return After Broken Wrist

Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco is making strides in his comeback from a broken wrist.

Last Wednesday, he managed 20 pain-free swings and intends to ramp up his hitting program over the weekend to return for the last remaining weeks of the season. The week prior, while doing the same exercise, Franco was feeling wrist pain due to the August 11th accident when a fastball hit and broke his left wrist.

Before the hiatus, Franco was hitting .277 with 13 homers and 48 RBI’s in 77 games. The team is eager to have him back in play, “but only if he’s 100%,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “We miss his bat.”

Provided Franco continues to feel good over these next few days, he’ll head to Clearwater to try some bat swings at game speed. The Phillies are scheduled to open a series in Atlanta Friday. That could be a logical time for Franco to return as long as no setbacks arise. This would give him 11 games to play before the season’s end.