Atlanta Braves Bring Back Francoeur… But Why?

Braves Reasons for Signing Frenchy Probably Extend Beyond Mere Sentiment

We like Jeff Francoeur.  Forgetting his hitting meltdown, how could you not?  He’s got that huge smile, that happy-go-lucky demeanor, that gullible naïveté, and – somehow – the consistent ability to make a national highlight at least once per year.  The bizarre part of his career is that these highlights have ranged from being an admiring teammate of a “deaf” player (spoiler:  both are now teammates again!) to throwing out runners from any part of deep right field to pitching.

But that’s not what the Braves had in mind – at least I don’t think so.  Getting all sentimental is nice… but doesn’t win ball games.

Back Home Again

Fred wrote about the event last night – that the now 32-year-old Atlanta native had been signed to a minor-league deal.  But aside from all of that, I’m more interested in why this player at this time.

Francoeur has been out there for the entire winter for the taking.  He did spend all of 2015 with the Phillies, playing 119 games – all in the majors.  In 343 plate appearances, he put 13 balls out of the park…though 9 of these were in the very cozy confines of Citizens’ Bank Park.  Still, that was 3rd on the club behind Ryan Howard (23) and Maikel Franco (14).  In fact, while he hit a respectable .258 overall, that average was .298 in Philadelphia… .303 vs. left-handers there.  On the road – pretty bad:  .210 vs. LHP, .234 vs. RHP.

So Philadelphia moved on from him – despite the homers and favorable home hitting.  So why did Atlanta pick him up?  There are a few possible reasons:

• A need at Gwinnett.  Perhaps, but there are others you could have gotten for that task.
• The ‘great clubhouse guy’ rationale.  Maybe, but we already have several of those guys around.
• Depth.  His arm is still strong, though his defense isn’t quite as it once was.
• Something is brewing?  Will explain.

The Braves have made no secret that they would like to off-load one of their higher-priced contracts, whether that becomes Michael Bourn or Nick Swisher.  Signing Francoeur at this juncture could signal that there might be a glimmer of hope on that front – more for Swisher, perhaps, as Frenchy isn’t a candidate to do the things that Bourn can do.

Then there’s this from just this morning.  Details from the beat writers seem to be a little fuzzy and almost contradictory, but…

Freddie Freeman must emerge from this Spring fully healthy.  Perhaps contrary to his own plans, it is essential that he take minimal baseball activity to protect his wrist, and comments from Coppolella yesterday were consistent with that approach:

I have previously opined that we should expect to see a lot of Bourn and Swisher on the field this Spring to see if they can hit well enough to entice a trade partner to engage.  That, in turn, would seem to open a door for more work for Francoeur to see what he can do.  Once Nick Markakis get in his requisite 1-2 ABs and Freeman gets (probably) 1 AB to start with, then expect Swisher will play out games at 1st base with Francouer going to right field.

Sure:  Frenchy “will have every opportunity to make our club” this Spring, but let’s face it:  the numbers don’t support this unless Swisher or Bourn can be dealt.

The other possibility that cannot be ignored is that Francoeur is here just in case of a Nick Markakis trade, but that would seem to be less likely.

Next: Scouting Grades Explained

Over this winter, Coppolella has done a bang-up job in not only bringing in top-level prospects, but also in signing veteran free agents to provide capable depth in case of injury.  That could be the only intent here, though the timing suggests to me that Coppy is hedging his bet – just in case – he gets a chance to dump some salary in the next few weeks.