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Mets Sign Frank Francisco

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December 19th: The Mets officially announced Francisco's two-year deal.

December 6th: The Mets appear determined to fill out their entire bullpen before the night is out. The team has agreed to a two-year deal with Frank Francisco, pending a physical, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Francisco is the third reliever the Mets have added to the fold tonight, following their signing of Jon Rauch and their trade for Ramon Ramirez. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Francisco's two-year contract will earn the right-hander $12MM.

Francisco, 32, will close for the Mets, with Rauch setting up, tweets Davidoff, and Bryan Grosnick provides the fantasy spin at CloserNews.com. The Blue Jays employed a similar setup in their bullpen for much of the season, and will receive compensation picks for Francisco and Rauch, both Type B free agents. In his lone season in Toronto, Francisco posted a 3.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 17 saves.

In MLBTR's list of this winter's top 50 free agents, Francisco ranked 44th. MLBTR's writers identified six different destinations for the righty in our prediction contest, but none of us picked the Mets.

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Comments

    • Well, I think I see what they are trying to do:

      Because relievers are a lot cheaper than other players.
      The Mets are probably planning to buy multiple relievers to set up possible trade opportunities. Obviously, the chances of one guy performing well is better when you have more guys. 

      I like the idea since they really don’t stand a chance to win next year anyway. (I mean, they just lost Reyes) Best to shore up some prospects through trade in the mean time. 

      • “Relievers are cheaper than other players”
        That’s like saying 4th outfielders are cheaper than other players. In terms of production, relievers are probably most overpaid.

        • “Relievers are cheaper than other players”
          That’s like saying 4th outfielders are cheaper than other players. In terms of production, relievers are probably most overpaid.
          Oh crap…beat me to it.

        • yea they are overpaid but when the trade deadline comes around there are more teams willing to give up something for a guy who can hold the team over in the 7th and 8th then for a 4th outfielder. I like these signings. They need to sign another guy like capuano but actually trade him this time

        • maybe if you quote the whole thing that he said and not just a line just to increase your ego…

        • Yeah except at the trade deadline the relievers the Mets may sign and flip will likely be cheap. i doubt a multi year deal happens, but if they can catch on a couple Strikethree has a point and they might be able to get some solid  prospects from teams in need. 

      • “Relievers are cheaper than other players”
        That’s like saying 4th outfielders are cheaper than other players. In terms of production, relievers are probably most overpaid.

      • “Relievers are cheaper than other players”
        That’s like saying 4th outfielders are cheaper than other players. In terms of production, relievers are probably most overpaid.

        • … and overrated, too. You can get easily a nice prospect for a good reliever.

      • “Relievers are cheaper than other players”
        That’s like saying 4th outfielders are cheaper than other players. In terms of production, relievers are probably most overpaid.

  3. Uhhh, did they not see how bad the Jays pen was last year?

    “Mets Agree to Three-Year Deal With Shawn Camp”

  8. Mets are planning on besting the Rays at their own makeshift bullpen game.

  10. Thanks Mets for purging our bullpen of mediocrity!

    Signed:

    Anthopoulos

    •  Honorable mention to the cardinals to! KIDDING i dont want them coming on here claiming their bullpen won them the world series again lol

  12. Not a bad signing IMO. They better hope Francisco stays healthy because he is pretty darn good when he is. 

  13. Francisco is a good signing…goes some way to balancing out Jon Rauch!

  15. Alderson is on a roll tonight. Rauch sucks, but this signing isn’t bad.

  16. Who needs José’s speed on the bases when we have Sandy’s speed at signing contracts.

  18. And they got Adam Loewen, so that’s 3 guys who were on the Blue Jays last year. Next the Mets will trade for Jason Frasor.

  19. And they got Adam Loewen, so that’s 3 guys who were on the Blue Jays last year. Next the Mets will trade for Jason Frasor.

  23. Because that combo worked out so well for Toronto last year.

    In other news, I hope Terry Collins is bigger than Jon Rausch.

  25. I bet AA is wishing he offered Shawn Camp arbitration, can you please sign Kelly Johnson now Mets?

    • Kelly Johnson is going to get signed no matter what, not worried at all about him

          • Yes we do…if a team with unprotected pick (top 15 is protected) signs him. He is a modified type A free agent.

            • Oh wow, didn’t know that, but the mets pick is protected, so we would get a second rounder?

  26. Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Frank Francisco, Bobby Parnell, Manny Acosta, and Tim Byrdak are definitely in the pen next year leaving room for one more pitcher.

    Josh Stinson? D.J. Carrasco? Pedro Beato? Danny Herrera? 

    The suspense is simply too much to handle.

    • I’d go with Beato unless the Mets re-sign Baustista to be a swing man/long arm guy.

  27. Alright, while your hot Sandy, Wanna trade the Jays ___, I have no one in my head that I want from the Mets lol

    Other than Wright, but we dont need him

  28. This is actually a decent signing, Francisco had a very up and down year , but closed the year on a good note. He can still blow guys away but only if he starts to use his curveball more like he did later in the year.

  29. Solid rebuilding move by the Mets.  Sign relievers, trade @ deadline, scoop up pitching prospects.  I think Kevin Towers invented that one. 

  31. someone said they got that bullpen cheap. Francisco $12 million for two years does not seem cheap. Didn’t Friedman most of the Rays Bullpen for that last year?

  32. Mets should trade away wright and move murphy to 3b. Then make a trade for figgins or brian roberts to leadoff and play 2b. keep payroll flexibility for next year and get a sp like cain or poss make a run at yadier. or pull a marlins and sign both plus a CLOSER!!!

    • Chone Figgins is not a baseball player. And I don’t think Angelos would ever trade Brian Roberts (for whatever reason). Either way, if I see Yadi in a Mets jersey next year I will roll around in the middle of the street kicking and cursing. 

  33. Mets should trade away wright and move murphy to 3b. Then make a trade for figgins or brian roberts to leadoff and play 2b. keep payroll flexibility for next year and get a sp like cain or poss make a run at yadier. or pull a marlins and sign both plus a CLOSER!!!

  35. I see…. so we are rebuilding by giving up our draft picks for mediocre filler, none of whom, are better than Manny Acosta.

    • your not giving up your draft pick. Your just giving Blue Jays supplement pick because Roach and Francisco are type B free agent.

  36. I do not understand this:  The Mets are NOT going anywhere in 2012.  Why spend money and acquire guys in their 30’s?  Waste of money!

      • then why the two year deal for francisco?  I could understand a one year deal and flip him, but two years makes it seem as if he is here to stay for all of 2012

        • It’s either him or Parnell. Your pick. 

          Well there’s always Mejia waiting somewhere in the distance. 

        • Because a one year deal makes him a rental at midseason, on a two year deal they can flip him and the other team controls him for a year and a half.

          • Right but lets say he stinks for the first half of this season? He hasn’t been great, there would be better options other than him out there, and teams would know that thy have a guy who is average with a six million dollar contract for next year. Plus, if he doesn’t stick and is a rental,he may be a type b guy and teams could get a pick for him. A little more incentive to go after the rental player. He also wouldn’t cost that much in the trade market as a rental.

  38. I know that the cool thing to do around here is rail on any team that spends on their bullpen, but really? They got a very good relief arm in Ramirez, as basically an add on to an already pretty even trade. Then got a solid relief arm in Frank, who isn’t the greatest, but does bring important closer experience. Then finished it off by grabbing a guy that had a crap year, but is a decent bounce back candidate and also brings more closing experience.

    Good night for the Mets. Completely revamped a big need and now can turn their attention elsewhere. May have spent a little more than you like to see, but unless I am mistaken nobody cost them a player, and even Wilpon has some extra cash with Jose moving on.

  40. It didn’t work in Toronto last year so why do the exact same thing again ? No wonder the mets suck

  41. 2 years at 12 mill ? Blue jays paid him 3.5 mil last year and turned down his 3.75 mil option why would you then pay him 6 million almost double what one of the smartest GM’s in the game thought he was worth. I don’t get the price but i like the player

  42. Why I’m excited for next year…Think about this…to be competitive, we have to be very creative. More creative since other teams have us beat in certain areas (i.e. Phillies rotation, Marlins money and potentially lineup, Braves – young talent, Washington – young talent and maybe money). Now I believe we have arguably the best bullpen in the NL East. The Braves kids were great, but they were overworked last year and might be getting ready to implode.So…our offense will score runs. We stay healthy and we’ll score runs. Our pitchers will be more relaxed because even if they go 5 innings, they could be followed by Parnell, Rauch, Ramirez, and then Francisco. We have an advantage now, that could be used to help us close the gap.To me that’s moneyball. Finding value and advantages where no else sees or has. I’ve been critical because we’re broke and losing Reyes is like seeing a brother leave our family cause life is better with some family in Miami. But all I’m saying is that…I am optimistic for the first time all offseason.

  43. I don’t hate any of these moves, especially the trade. I wouldn’t be surprised if they acquired Ramirez knowing there was a lot of interest in him and that they knew they could flip him for something they need more, like a CF or #2 starter. In fact, they should talk to the Tigers about Austin Jackson (not straight up, obviously).

    Either way, assuming a payroll of $100M as stated, the Mets should still have about $15M to spend on FAs or take on salary — maybe $8M more, if they decide to non-tender Pelfrey and Torres. You can buy a lot of upgrades with $23M (they’d need a decent enough CF, a 2B and #2 pitcher to have a shot, and it’s possible they could get Coco Crisp, Kelly Johnson and Edwin Jackson for that).

    It’s obviously a huge longshot, but conceivably, they could still compete this season if they make the right moves. With the fences being moved in, Bay and Wright stand a reasonable chance to return to semi-form; if Santana and Davis are healthy, they have an ace and a potentially solid 3-4-5 run in their lineup. (Possible lineup: Crisp, Johnson, Wright, Davis, Bay, Duda, Tejada, Thole, P — not terrible).

    Regardless, Alderson kind of rules for even trying.

    • As a Mets fan I guess there’s that bit of hope there. Looking at the offensive stats from 2011:

      2nd in batting average2nd in OBP
      5th in wOBA
      3rd in wRC+
      When healthy, they’re a pretty good offensive team. They don’t hit HR’s (which shows in their overall slugging pct.) but they can hit. The fences moving in, Davis and Murphy coming back healthy only helps. Granted the departure of Reyes is devastating to the lineup; you simply can’t replace that spark in the lineup. The issue is still starting pitching though. Even with the bullpen upgrades, the starting rotation is thin, even with Santana’s return. Niese is still young, Dickey is reliable, and then a lot of question marks. 

    • I generally agree with you here, although Torres can probably do what Crisp does, only with better power at leadoff. Or the Mets could just stick Ruben Tejada at leadoff and take if from there. But I’m not against Coco Crisp at CF.

      Beyond that, the Mets probably will stick with Danny Murphy at 2B, but a good backup (or two) will be a good idea, because he’s not the best defender out there, and he tends to get hurt.

      I like the idea of Edwin Jackson, but I’d have to see how things pan out internally with the Mets’ pitching. They’ve got Johan (who is coming back from injury), Niese (I think he fits the #2 bill), Dickey, Gee, and a #5. Jackson would immediately slide Dickey and Gee down to #4 and 5 respectively. So, not sucky.

      That being said, the Mets know that Harvey and Wheeler are coming up soon, so splurging out for a established top level starter isn’t the best option. Maybe go after Jason Marquis or Jeff Francis instead to fill in as a cheap #5 option? Then again, the guy I’d really want is Paul Maholm.

  44. Francisco can’t close, I said this last year when MLBTR said he’d close for the Jays, he simply can’t close. He’s one of those guys that when put into a closing situation he’s nothing but an average pitcher. And in the bigs that translates to meat. By the end of Spring the mets will find out what the Jays found out and what the Rangers already know, Francisco can’t close. Once again he’ll be setting up for Rauch, what’s the problem here??

    • Assuming that the Mets aren’t able to compete next year (most likely), Sandy can trade his new relievers for a prospect or two. Acquiring three relievers means that there’s a high chance that one of them will become an attractive piece to pick up at the deadline. And if it’s between Francisco and Parnell, then I choose Francisco. 

  45. Rauch is a waste of money. Francisco did not handle pressure too well in Toronto so New York will be a challenge for him. But he does have good stuff.

  51. I was hoping that Francisco would have signed with San Francisco. 

  53. Instead of blowing 1 save against the Phillies last year, now he gets to blow many saves against the Phillies this season.

  54. Why is Ramirez always changing teams? Dude consistently has good numbers. I remember when the Rox got rid of him I was like “huh”…oh well …maybe he’s a jerk or something

  55. 3 years ago we were saying we got Rodriguez…3 years later we say…we got Francisco?

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