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UPDATE (Chris Cotillo): I spoke to Franco's agent, Ryan Royster, who told me "there is not an offer on the table at this time." It is unclear if the sides have engaged in negotiations at all this spring.
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ORIGINAL (Matt Goldman): In 80 games last season, Maikel Franco showed everyone why the Phillies are so excited about him. In 335 plate appearances, Franco's slash line was .280/.343/.497 with 14 HR's, a wOBA of .360, and a wRC+ of 128. He likely could have improved on those figures, but he missed most of August, and all of September with a small wrist fracture.
Philadelphia's front office clearly thinks Franco is their third baseman of the future, as they've extended a contract offer to him.
Breaking News: Source: The Phillies have offered 3B Maikel Franco a Six-Year, $39-Million deal.@z101digital @ZDeportes
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) March 21, 2016
Regardless of whether or not Franco takes this deal, it's hard not to look at the proposal and be reminded of Evan Longoria's contract with Tampa Bay. On April 18th, 2008, with just 12 major league games under his belt, Longoria signed a six-year deal worth $17.5 million; with option years that increased the value to $44 million. While the Phillies have offered Franco significantly more guaranteed money, that's simply a sign of the times rather than an indication of the difference in skill sets.
It's difficult to know or guess what Franco will do with this offer on the table, but considering that his agent isn't Scott Boras, there's obviously a chance that the two sides can come to an agreement. If Franco takes the deal, and his career projects the way that Philadelphia is expecting it to, he'll undoubtedly be leaving a lot of money on the table. However $39 million is a life-changing amount of money, and being that every player is just one injury away from never playing the game again, it would be hard to turn it down.
This offseason we were reminded how far a player can fall, as Ian Desmond, who turned down a seven-year deal worth $107 million, signed a one-year contract with the Rangers for $8 million. As of now, it's unclear if there's a timetable for when the Phillies expect to have an answer, or if there's an expiration date for the offer; but once more information is available, this story will be updated.