Giants To Sign Jeff Francoeur

The Giants have reached an agreement on a minor league deal with free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Royals had released the 29-year-old earlier this month.

Francoeur hit .208/.249/.322 in 193 plate appearances this month, following a down 2012 with an even worse campaign.  Amid a resurgent 2011 season, the Royals signed Francoeur to a two-year, $13.5MM extension.  They'll be on the hook for the $3.2MM or so remaining on his contract, less the pro-rated league minimum if Francoeur returns to the Majors.  There is the expectation that he will join the big league team after getting some ABs and work in in left field, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Francoeur is represented by CSE.

A right-handed hitter, Francoeur hasn't done much damage against lefties since that 2011 season.  The Giants still aren't risking much by giving him a shot to contribute in left field; Rosenthal says they figure to use him in a platoon with Andres Torres, with Gregor Blanco manning center field in the absence of the injured Angel Pagan.