Franklin leaves GM job with Joliet Slammers for Cubs affiliate

JOLIET – Joliet Slammers general manager Chris Franklin has left the team to join the Chicago Cubs’ Double-A affiliate in Tennessee.

Franklin is the second top executive to leave the minor league baseball team since the end of the 2015 season. It is not clear whether he will be replaced.

Former CEO Josh Schaub left in September, saying he was pursuing opportunities in Major League Baseball that would preclude him from owning shares in the Slammers.

Schaub sold his shares to majority owner Nick Semaca, who said the departures of Schaub and Franklin are a coincidence created by opportunities to get closer to Major League Baseball.

“Chris got a great job,” Semaca said. “Everybody, just like our ballplayers, wants to get into affiliated ball. He got that opportunity. Everybody is happy for him, especially Cub fans.”

The Smokies play in Kodak, which is outside of Knoxville. The team is part of the Cubs’ farm system used to develop players for the major leagues.

The Slammers are an independent baseball team, meaning they are not affiliated with any major league franchise.

Franklin, now director of corporate sales for the Smokies, said Thursday that the job is “a great opportunity” to join a team affiliated with the major leagues.

“It’s something I wanted to do for a long time,” Franklin said.

He described his experience in Joliet as a “great time. I think we did a lot of things in the four years I was there. I think we have a great staff that can continue the progress that we started.”

Franklin grew up in Morris. Before coming to the Slammers, he was general manager with the River City Rascals in O’Fallon, Missouri, a team that is in the same Frontier League as the Slammers. He also previously worked a year with the JackHammers, the team that preceded the Slammers in Joliet.

His last day with the Slammers was Dec. 31. Franklin started the new job this week.

The Slammers are advertising for a general manager. But Semaca said whether he hires someone for the position depends on the candidates.

“We’re looking for a new general manager, but I have a real high bar,” he said. “If we find someone who is complementary, great. But I’ve been around the block enough to know that putting someone in a box if that person doesn’t fit could be worse than not filling the position.”

Semaca took over chief executive duties when Schaub left.

He said the Slammers staff “is stepping up and doing a great job” and that the departures of Schaub and Franklin do not reflect problems in the organization.

“We’re feeling pretty good where we’re standing right now for the coming season,” Semaca said. “No one should look at this and say, ‘What the heck is going on?’ ”