Outfielder Jeff Francoeur says that both he and the Phillies have interest in a continued relationship beyond this season, as CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports. A reunion has long seemed a distinct possibility, particularly since the Phillies reportedly pulled him back after an August waiver claim.
There’s still some uncertainty, of course. Francoeur will return to the free agent market this winter, and he could field interest from other clubs. And the organization may wait to allow its new general manager — once hired — make a final call.
“There’s mutual interest in me coming back,” said Francoeur. “They’ve got a lot going on in the front office with the general manager search, with Pete (Mackanin) taking over as manager. Like anything else, there will be an appropriate time to address it, but there’s mutual interest.”
Francoeur has provided more in terms of pop than on-base ability from an offensive standpoint, slashing .257/.287/.427 with 12 home runs over 324 plate appearances. That line is good for only a 91 wRC+. And defensive metrics are not enamored of his work in the corner outfield, where he still possesses a good arm but has below-average range.
While Francoeur’s value is somewhat limited on the field, he did draw interest at the deadline and showed enough for at least one (thus-far unreported) team to put in a waiver claim. And as Salisbury writes, the 31-year-old seems to have impressed the rebuilding organization as a veteran presence in a changing clubhouse. As the Phils look to work in a variety of young outfielders, he could continue to function as a mentor and stabilizing force.
I would bring him back. Good bat against lefties and plays a strong defense in the outfield, plus he brings experience off the bench and leadership. Get this deal done Phillies.
He doesn’t play good defense. He still has a strong arm, but his range is poor.
With that said, he’d be a great veteran voice in a locker room full of young kids and he’d be a solid platoon OF/pinch hitter. It isn’t easy to get well-respected veterans to want to join a team in the current state of the Phillies so it makes sense to keep Frenchy around since the interest is mutual.
Solid BP addition!
How Francoeur is still a major leaguer is one of the biggest head scratchers of the 21st century.
Maybe because he’s only slightly below average and willing to play for < $1mil this year?
Oh, that OBP must have blinded me.
Fun fact, I won the home run title with 93 with him on MLB 06: The Show.
I don’t want him back. He’s going to cost more than he’s worth next offseason. It’s a similar circumstance to Juan Pierre. He did a nice job, got $1.6m and tanked. They should be wary
There’s really no way it’s more than a 1+1 year deal anyway. With that in mind, who cares if he costs $3MM instead of $0.5MM? The Phillies payroll obligations for 2016 currently sit around $85MM, and 2017 is about $47MM.
And they’ve got a new Comcast deal kicking in for 2016 that adds about $65MM/year for the first few years (around $30MM more than their current one) regardless of ratings. Once they start winning, that only increases, as they have rights to a percentage of all CSN ad revenues.
Players get paid for what they have done in the past, not for future expectations. It’s is a weird concept but it is true for every player except young stars that get offered/awarded big contracts.
This is going to happen because Frenchy is a great guy. He plays hard, loves the game, and leads by example. The Phillies need guys like this to keep things light and get effort out of their team, regardless of the talent level on the field.