Maikel Franco to rejoin Phillies this weekend

Maikel Franco's rookie year is set to resume. The third baseman is planning to rejoin the Phillies in time for the final series of the season this weekend.

Franco played on Tuesday at the team's facility in Clearwater, Fla. He will play there again on Wednesday. If all goes well, Franco will fly to Philadelphia on Thursday and be available to play the next night against Miami. Franco has been sidelined since Aug. 11 with a small fracture in his left wrist.

"They've been sending us videos of his at-bats and he looks fine," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He's swinging the bat with authority. He looks fine."

Mackanin said Franco is pain free. If he was not, Mackanin said, the rookie would not be playing. The team still plans to send him to winter ball in the Dominican Republic, where Franco has spent the last three offseasons.

"I think it would be good for him to finish up playing the last three games of the season," Mackanin said. "Feeling good leaving here, going to play some winter ball, and then be ready for next year. We could always use another bat in the lineup."

Mackanin said the Phillies could be aggressive next season and move some of the organization's top prospects to the majors without first reaching triple A.

Outfielder Nick Williams and righthander Jake Thompson are the two top candidates if the Phillies decide to break spring training with prospects on their roster. Both excelled at double-A Reading this season after being acquired from Texas as part of the Cole Hamels' trade. They both will be 22 years old at the start of spring training.

It also would not be surprising if relievers Jimmy Cordero and Tom Windle joined the Phillies without stopping at triple A. Both will be 24 years old by the end of camp. Cordero, a righthander, throws a 100-m.p.h. fastball and is improving his command. Windle, a lefthander, made a strong transition this summer to the bullpen from the starting rotation.

"If we recognize that a guy is major-league ready, if it's out of A ball or double A, I think it behooves us to make that decision," Mackanin said. "That's a decision you would have to make as an organization. Who knows? Possibly. And those are tough decisions to make."

Infielder Chase d'Arnaud, who joined the Phillies when rosters expanded in September, is facing his younger brother Travis, a Mets catcher, for the first time as major-leaguers this week. Travis d'Arnaud, 26 and two years younger than Chase, is a former Phillies prospect. Mackanin said there's a "very good chance" he will play Chase during the three-game series.

"And I'm hoping his brother will tell him what's coming," Mackanin said.