May 24, 2013

Report: OF Jeff Francoeur on the market already

June 12, 2012 by 36 Comments

It’s no secret that the Indians could be in the market for an outfielder, especially a right handed hitting one. According to a CBS Sports report, the Royals may be open to shopping Jeff Francoeur sooner than expected-

“Royals prospect Wil Myers’ ascension as a super prospect has put veteran right fielder Jeff Francoeur on the trading block.

Many teams are holding off on making players available until July, which is typical. But Myers’ enormous performance in the minors — he has 22 home runs and 58 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A — means Francoeur can be traded without any claim or thought the Royals have thrown in the towel. Favorable publicity surely would accompany a Myers promotion. The Royals may have the best collection of young power prospects in the game, including fiirst baseman Eric Homer and third baseman Mike Moustakas.”

Francoeur is a 28 year old former gold glove winner hitting .268 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI. He has a .309 OBP and a .723 OPS.

[Related: Is Michael Brantley figuring it out?]

 

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  • EyesAbove

    Frenchy would be such a solid player if he could just draw a walk once in awhile, his OBP is ghastly. 

  • dwhit110

    Not a fan of the Frenchman. I don’t see him hitting enough to be much of an upgrade versus the guys we’re already running out there (though he’d be better in the field than Damon or Dunc, even though his arm would be kind of a waste in left.)

  • http://twitter.com/GreatestHurley Jason Hurley

    It’s superior to anything we’re getting out of LF now.  Even marginal upgrades are still upgrades. 

  • dwhit110

    You’d have to think Carlos Lee will soon be available. He’d be a much better get for us I’d think.

  • The_Real_Shamrock

    Yea the Royals want to get Myers up and who could blame them with the numbers he’s posting.  “What if” the Indians actually had a prospect like that who could play in the outfield?  Man in the late ’90′s they had so many they were giving them away. 

    Anyways I’d kick the tires of Francouer who knows maybe the Royals will give him away cheap just to make room.  I can’t imagine it I would think they’d get more if they wait but Myers is HAWT!

  • kjn

    No.

  • dwhit110

    Not if they stop you from making a more significant addition in another 3 weeks.

  • kjn

    Jeff Franceour = 0 WAR
    Johnny Damon = 0 WAR

    Push.

  • kjn

    Agreed. Better players will be available soon enough.

  • Steve

     Actually, bb-ref has Damon at 0.9 WAR better than Franceour on the year.

  • Harv 21

    as I said in another thread, not sure Dolans would pay the approx $10m pro rated 2012 salary left on Lee’s $18.5m annual for half a year, or give up the type of prospects Houston might want if we insist they pay a chunk of it.

  • http://twitter.com/GreatestHurley Jason Hurley

    Agreed.  But, taken in a vacuum, I don’t hate it.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    “I’ll Stay” – Austin Powers and Cleveland Indians fans everywhere

  • dwhit110

    And Major League Baseball doesn’t occur in a vacuum, which is why I hate it.

  • Karsten Treu

    FRENCHY!

    …..Love the guy, but we can do better. Maybe he’ll find a happy home in Oakland. Though he might go broke to the outfield fans.

  • EyesAbove

    Thats the only reason Im semi interested in Francoeur, he would probably come cheap. Nobody is going to give up top prospects to get him, so at some point the Royals will have to take whatever they can get.

  • mgbode

    “The Royals may have the best collection of young power prospects in the game”

    we’ve been hearing this for years.  one of these days, they’ll actually figure out how to win more than 1 game for every 2 they lose maybe.

  • mgbode

    this is the correct answer.

  • mgbode

    we might, but Frenchy will retreat :)

  • enjoymoreradio

    I love Frenchy, but Lee and Maybin may both be on the block soon enough. Too early to make a move just yet.

  • EyesAbove

    Haha yeah, poor Royals. They’ve been an “up and coming” team for about 17 years now. 

  • Hermie13

    Bigger issue could be Lee’s no-trade clause.

  • EyesAbove

    Vladimir Guerrero was just released by the Blue Jays, so if we are still desperate for outfield help, he’s available. Wouldnt have to give up any prospects either. 

  • Vindictive_Pat

    Double True.

  • mgbode

    “Lee agreed to waive his 10-and-5 rights in exchange for full no-trade protection during the first four years of his contract. He can still block trades to 14 unknown teams this year.”
    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/04/details-of-carlos-lees-no-trade-clause.html

  • mgbode

    “Lee agreed to waive his 10-and-5 rights in exchange for full no-trade protection during the first four years of his contract. He can still block trades to 14 unknown teams this year.”
    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/04/details-of-carlos-lees-no-trade-clause.html

  • mgbode

    my favorite is how their farm system is always ranked top10 while the Indians is ranked bottom10.   yet, we end up magically having semi-competitive teams most of the time while they are the dregs of the league year after year.

  • mgbode

    Vlad is the 2nd best bad-ball hitter I have ever seen play the game (nobody beats Tony Gwynn – I feel like he could hit an intentional walk pitch into the gap).

    But, there’s a reason he’s been with 4 teams in 4 years and it was rumored that he had retired from baseball (he now says he hasn’t): 

    ”
    Slugger Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .303 with the Toronto Blue Jays affiliate after posting some terrific totals in High-A Dunedin. Guerrero is currently injured after being hit by a pitch, and there is some big news concerning the veteran’s comeback status.

    Mike Wilner has tweeted that the “rumors are true” and that Vladimir Guerrero has given up on coming back and playing baseball. That means, no come back for the 37-year-old, future Hall of Famer with the Blue Jays.”

    http://calltothepen.com/2012/06/12/toronto-blue-jays-rumors-has-vladimir-guerrero-given-up/

  • Hermie13

    True; however, there are some that believe he may have blocked trades to all AL teams (minus Texas). Very good chance the Indians are on his no-trade list…

  • mgbode

    agreed.  should have noted that was just to complete the info.

    Lee has said he’d be willing to waive his no-trade clause to help the Astros, but you never know if that still means to specific teams or not (as we saw with Beltran)

  • Harv 21

    I saw the no-trade but assumed Lee would waive it in his last contract year; half the games are on the road and he’s gone in September anyway.
     
    And that contract they gave him looks pretty awful in retrospect. His power decreased steadily since the year before they signed him.

  • EyesAbove

    I read that he refused to play in anymore minor league games, and asked to be released if the team was not planning to call him up. Makes sense for a player his age. Its a long shot but if they are desperate for a bat then rolling the dice on Vlad couldnt hurt. 

  • cmm13

    too bad they traded all their pitching away to get said “collection of young power prospects”

  • mgbode

    “they acquired shortstop Alcides Escobar, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and right-handed pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress from the Brewers in exchange for Greinke”

    Ouch.  Rule of thumb – do not trade a good starting pitcher to the Brewers (CC trade).

    {Ignoring Brett Lawrie for Shawn Marcum trade}

  • FearTheRoo

    The Indians like to live dangerously….

  • kjn

    fWAR ftw!

    but that’s still nice to know