MLB Trade Rumors: Seattle Mariners’ Nick Franklin Drawing Interest From Detroit Tigers, NY Mets

Seattle Mariners shortstop Nick Franklin is drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Detroit Tigers, who are exhaustively looking for a replacement for veteran shortstop Jose Iglesias.

Franklin becomes one of the hottest names on the trading floor, as teams scramble to fill in their need at the shortstop position. The New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are each looking for an upgrade at shortstop, and the name of the 23-year-old slugger certainly tops their list.

"Franklin is available, with the Mariners going with Brad Miller at shortstop, and top free agent Robinson Cano taking the second-base spot. The Rays, Mets and Orioles are among other teams to show interest in Franklin," CBS Sports reported.

Increasing Interest in Franklin

Franklin batted .255 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs for the Mariners last season, but he became tradable after the team decided to stick with Brad Miller as their starting shortstop this Spring Training.

The Mets, who are having a hard time locking down free agent shortstop Stephen Drew, are exploring the possibility of trading for Franklin. Still, the Mets' front office is still not convinced that Franklin will solve their problems.

"The Mets have been scouting Franklin to see whether he'd make a viable defensive shortstop, but one rival executive rated Franklin as 'average to a tick below,' suggesting he's comparable to Jhonny Peralta, the Tigers shortstop for most of last season," CBS Sports reported.

Many baseball insiders believe Detroit could pull off a trade for Franklin after learning that their defensive shortstop Jose Iglesias will likely sit out the rest of the season due to a fracture in his shin. Detroit has Danny Worth and Hernan Perez to fill the void left by Iglesias, but Franklin could provide more firepower to an already potent Tigers batting corps.  
"Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski acknowledged the team was looking around while suggesting they aren't deep in trade talks yet with anyone," CBS Sports Jon Heyman reported.