Headlines

  • Braves Promote Ronald Acuna
  • Yankees Promote Gleyber Torres
  • Mets To Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen
  • Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins
  • Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Braves Sign Jose Bautista
  • Previous
  • Next
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2018 Arbitration Tracker
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brewers Acquire Juan Francisco; Release Alex Gonzalez

By Tim Dierkes | June 3, 2013 at 10:50am CDT

The Brewers acquired third baseman Juan Francisco from the Braves for minor league lefty reliever Tom Keeling, announced the teams.  Additionally, the Brewers announced they've asked for waivers for the unconditional release of infielder Alex Gonzalez, while recalling second baseman Scooter Gennett and optioning Mike Fiers.

The Braves designated Francisco for assignment last Thursday to open a roster spot for Alex Wood.  Francisco, 25, hit .237/.281/.420 in 320 plate appearances spanning 2012-13 for Atlanta.  They had acquired him in an April 2012 trade with the Reds for reliever J.J. Hoover.  Signed out of the Dominican Republic by Cincinnati in 2004, Francisco hit the prospect radar a few years later.  Baseball America praised his arm and big raw power, questioning his aggressive approach at the plate.  Francisco has played only third base in the Majors, and has played a handful of minor league games at the outfield corners and at first.  In the short-term, though, GM Doug Melvin indicated on WSSP SportsRadio 1250 that Francisco will play first for the Brewers.  Looking ahead, Francisco could be a viable replacement at the hot corner if the Brewers trade Aramis Ramirez this summer.

Keeling, 25, was drafted out of Oklahoma State by the Brewers in the 18th round in 2010.  In 17 relief frames at Double-A this year, he has a 3.18 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 5.3 BB/9, with one home run allowed.  According to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, "Keeling is a future bullpen piece who could get to Atlanta in 2014. He's hit 93 on the gun and occasionally uses a sideam delivery."  Baseball America's J.J. Cooper paints a less rosy picture, tweeting, "Keeling is a fringy potential left-handed reliever with a below average fastball, OK slider."

Gonzalez, 36, signed a Major League deal worth $1.45MM in February.  His release came after a .177/.203/.230 line in 118 plate appearances.  A shortstop by trade, Gonzalez spent more time this year at the infield corners due to injuries to Corey Hart and Ramirez.  Gonzalez had ACL surgery on his knee a year ago and battled a hamstring injury about a month ago.  He lost playing time to Yuniesky Betancourt, who hit six home runs in April.  The Brewers will be on the hook for Gonzalez's salary this year, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum should he sign elsewhere.

Gennett, 23, was added to the Brewers' 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.  The 5'9" second baseman was ranked eighth among Brewers prospects by Baseball America prior to the season.  He's a free-swinging line drive hitter with some surprising doubles power, wrote BA.  They added that he has some rough edges to smooth out defensively, with an average arm and range.  Gennett was hitting .297/.342/.376 in 221 plate appearances at Triple-A, and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy suggests he will push Rickie Weeks for the team's starting job at second base.  At the least, some kind of platoon situation is possible, since Gennett bats left-handed and Weeks right-handed.

Share 2 Retweet 35 Send via email0

Alex Gonzalez Atlanta Braves Juan Francisco Milwaukee Brewers Transactions

Twins Designate Tyler Robertson For Assignment
Main
Weak-Hitting Positions For AL Contenders
0 comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Braves Promote Ronald Acuna

    Yankees Promote Gleyber Torres

    Mets To Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen

    Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

    Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Braves Sign Jose Bautista

    Taijuan Walker Diagnosed With “UCL Injury”

    2018-19 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

    Kevin Kiermaier To Undergo Thumb Surgery

    Dinelson Lamet To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Recent

    Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies

    Reds Activate Eugenio Suarez, Select Rosell Herrera

    Poll: How Should The Mets Handle Matt Harvey?

    MLB Daily Roster Roundup: Acuña, Beckham, Beltre, Thames

    Twins Designate Tyler Kinley

    NL Notes: Epstein, Harvey, Bumgarner, Bautista

    Outrighted: Quackenbush, Adams, Brothers, Ravin

    MLBTR Chat Transcript: Acuña, Duggar, Kopech, Manaea

    Indians Sign Melky Cabrera

    Tim Beckham Placed On 10-Day DL, Considering Surgery

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • 2018-19 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Twitter/RSS Feeds
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
    • Roster Resource

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version