29-year-old Maikel Antonio Franco was born on August 26, 1992, he is a Dominican professional baseball third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014 and played for them through 2019. He has also played for the Kansas City Royals in 2020, and the Baltimore Orioles in 2021.
Franco was called up to the majors for the first time on September 2, 2014, and made his major league debut that day against the Atlanta Braves. During his initial stint in the majors in 2014, Franco hit .179/.190/.214 with no home runs and 5 RBIs.
Franco began the 2015 season with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He was called up to the Phillies to be their starting third baseman on May 15, after hitting .355 with four home runs and 24 RBIs with the IronPigs. He hit his first career major league home run on May 17 against Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randall Delgado.
After his release by the Orioles, on August 31, 2021, the Atlanta Braves signed Franco to a minor league contract. Franco played in 10 games for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, hitting .286. He became a free agent following the season.
On December 12, 2021, Franco signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. On April 7, 2022the Nationals selected Franco’s contracts, adding him to their opening day roster.