Phillies to meet with Francoeur's reps
You can pencil at least one appointment into Ruben Amaro Jr.'s winter meetings day-planner. Amaro and assistant GM Scott Proefrock will meet with representatives for free agent right fielder Jeff Francoeur, possibly as early as today, according to a baseball source who has spoken to Francouer.
Phillies to meet with Francoeur's reps
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
You can pencil at least one appointment into Ruben Amaro Jr.'s winter meetings day-planner. Amaro and assistant GM Scott Proefrock will meet with representatives for free agent right fielder Jeff Francoeur, possibly as early as today, according to a baseball source who has spoken to Francouer.
The Phillies are legitimately intrigued with the possibility of adding the right-handed hitting outfielder to their line-up. In fact, Charlie Manuel has apparently expressed interest in working with Francouer to help fix his approach at the plate.
That doesn't mean a deal is imminent. And there is no indication that the Phils are focused soley on Francoeur. Fellow former Brave Matt Diaz is another possibility who is a free agent. And the club has expressed confidence in reserve outfielder Ben Francisco.
Still, Francoeur is very much on the radar.
Francoeur has endured a roller coaster ride over the past three seasons that has seen him move from the Braves to the Mets to the Rangers before being non-tendered by Texas after the World Series.
In Francoeur's first three seasons in the majors, he hit .280 with a .319 on base percentage, .782 OPS, and 62 home runs for the Braves. But he hit just .239 with a .653 OPS in 2008, spending some time in the minors in the middle of the year. In 2009, the Braves shipped him to the Mets, where he hit .268 with a .734 OPS and 21 home runs in 199 before moving to the Rangers this past August.
Francoeur would appeal to the Phillies in several different ways. First, he has always hit well against left-handed pitchers (.300 with an .805 OPS last season, .299 with an .824 OPS for his career). Second, he is a solid defender with a strong arm. Third, he will turn just 27 on Jan. 8, which means he still has some upside.
If the Phils did end up signing Francoeur, they would welcome a player who is the exact opposite of Jayson Werth in his patience at the plate. He averages just 3.42 pitches-per-plate appearance in his career, and has swung at 46 percent of his first pitches (the major league average during the span, according to Baseball-Reference.com, is 27 percent).
Other teams reported to be in on Francoeur are the Royals and the Rockies. But it sounds as if the Phillies have a legitimate shot to sign him, if they choose to go in that direction.
yes franceour is a free-wheeler but that can be addressed. he is only 27 and hits well against lefties. how many other guys from our roster have a .300 avg against lefties? People love to complain... J Roll was right plenty of front-runners here in philly.— theeman1- I have always hated Francoeur. He's had some annoying anti-Phillies quotes over the years. After reading this article I'm little more open to the idea - I didn't realize his numbers verus LHP were so good (Francisco's numbers are good too though). I would like to see Ross Gload get more AB's against RHP.— Hunter S. T
- I think Francouer is a project. Maybe platoon him with D. Brown and have Charlie work on his development as a hitter. He's the same approximate age as Werth was when they signed him. If the price were right he might be a steal. Plus he is a good glove with a great arm. He also has a beard so we never know Werth was missing in right!!!— Phillyexp
- OH MY GOD Francour totally SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— hotelguy
- Francoeur has an excellent arm. If he could ever become even slightly selective he could get back to being an effective hitter. I've also noticed, after a few years of sitting in rightfield, that he seems to be about the most enthusiastic, friendly rightfielder in the league, for what that's worth. If Charlie thinks he can get through to him and the price is right, he's worth a shot.— frankenslade
- Ugh. Not Francoeur. I just threw up in my mouth.
- Francoeur is garbage. All you need to know about him is that the Braves traded him to their biggest divisional rival and never looked back (think McNabb to the Redskins).— superturtle
- Give Francisco a shot first. Sign Francoeur or Diaz for a bench job and to back up Ben if he doesn't cut the mustard— DPL
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If Charlie needs a project tell him to go to a hobby shop. There's a reason why this guy has bounced around like he has. No time for experiments. That's what the minors are for.— JLH - He's fine if we had 26 roster spots (or were in the American League) and the money came out of Charlie's salary.— JayW
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Dominic Brown needs more time at AAA. I say go for Francoeur or Diaz and platoon away with Brown. I'm more interested in what LH relievers the Phils are considering, since that will likely have more affect with respect to NL East standings.— DaveCicc- Well the dearly departed Werth wasn't exactly an epitome of plate discipline himself. Francoeur has a rifle of an arm, which definitely helps his appeal. He should be able to pop 20-25 HR here, easy. I'd take a shot if it were 1-2 yrs at $6-7 million per year.— UncleEddie
- Sounds like a good addition. Need someone to make up for Werth's strikeouts.— Justaschmuck
- .300 hitter against lefties with that arm sounds like Christmas to me.— joeibt
