PHOENIX — Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco does not expect to go on the disabled list after being plunked on the left wrist by a pitch Tuesday night.
X-rays were negative and Franco said he was feeling better Wednesday morning. As expected, he was held out of the lineup for Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against Arizona. Franco was wearing a soft splint on the wrist, but he said it was just a precaution. He believes he could be ready to play soon.
“I think it’ll be a couple of days, but no DL,” Franco said. “Nothing bad happened. It feels much better.”
The Phillies are off Thursday. They open a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday night. Franco will continue to be evaluated in the meantime.
Andres Blanco started at third base Wednesday afternoon.
Franco has been one of the Phillies’ bright spots, hitting .277 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 77 games. He has become a legitimate NL Rookie of the Year candidate.
Despite not coming up from Triple A until mid-May, Franco leads all big-league rookie hitters in OPS (.830). He ranks fourth among rookies with 36 extra-base hits, five fewer than leader Randal Grichuk of St. Louis.