Thread: Jeff Francis

According to MLB Trade Rumors, Jeff Francis has requested and been granted his release from the Reds organization.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/0...f-francis.html

Anyone think he might be worth a shot in the rotation? He's 31, and has put up solid enough numbers in AAA this year. With Pavano's shoulder issues and the enigmatic nature of Liriano, could it hurt to have Francis in the rotation? Or are we talking Jason Marquis 2.0?

Discuss....

Maybe sign him to a minor league deal, let him pitch in Rochester, see if he has anything or not... maybe... his numbers in AAA this year are borderline and don't give me a lot of confidence. He was not very effective with Kansas City last year.

It's that or DeVries and Manship/Swarzak, plus the cracks are already starting to show in Walters. Sign Francis today.

Originally Posted by sbknudson

Maybe sign him to a minor league deal, let him pitch in Rochester, see if he has anything or not... maybe... his numbers in AAA this year are borderline and don't give me a lot of confidence. He was not very effective with Kansas City last year.

Note that Francis opted out of his current minor league deal; the Reds did not simply cut him. He apparently feels he demonstrated all he needs to, at AAA. You either sign him to a major league contract or you pass for now; nothing in between. If no one offers him what he wants, maybe later on he'll accept a AAA deal again.

Hey, there's always 864-year old Jamie Moyer. He got released today too....

I'd sign him, and put Pavano on the DL. If it works out, great. If not, you lost less money than you'll lose on draft picks that don't work out this year (since most picks doen't work out....).

We also have Blackie coming back from the DL, but how effective HE will be isn't clear yet.

I'd stay totally away unless one thinks they can trade him at the deadline.

Originally Posted by ashburyjohn

Note that Francis opted out of his current minor league deal; the Reds did not simply cut him. He apparently feels he demonstrated all he needs to, at AAA. You either sign him to a major league contract or you pass for now; nothing in between. If no one offers him what he wants, maybe later on he'll accept a AAA deal again.

I'm sure he wanted a major league deal when he left Kansas City last year, but nobody offered him one, Minnesota included. His AAA numbers are not all that interesting. If those are the choices, I say pass.

Jeff Francis would have been a better signing than Marquis....I'm slightly surprised all he got was a minor league deal. He seems like a Twins-kind of player. He's probably a better pitcher than Walters, Devries, Manship, and Swarzak. Who am I kidding...he could be better than Blackburn, Liriano, Pavano, etc, etc. It's not my money, so I say sign him. The downside is that he pitches well enough that the Twins re-sign him next year for more than he's worth. The upside is that he pitches well enough to stabilize the rotation and that you can trade him for some lottery ticket at the deadline.

I have a pro-lefty bias, and because of it I'm for signing him if it's cheap. I don't trust Blackburn, De Vries or Liriano, Swarzak is a long man/middle reliever as is Manship. I'm not confident that Walters will last until the All-Star break. They might get themselves something like they got out of Pavano (high end) and he couldn't be as bad as Marquis. I say give it a shot.

Originally Posted by stringer bell

I have a pro-lefty bias, and because of it I'm for signing him if it's cheap. I don't trust Blackburn, De Vries or Liriano, Swarzak is a long man/middle reliever as is Manship. I'm not confident that Walters will last until the All-Star break. They might get themselves something like they got out of Pavano (high end) and he couldn't be as bad as Marquis. I say give it a shot.

Yeah, what the hell. They need to spend money to get players back at the deadline, especially if Pavano continues to SUCK THIS MUCH.

Originally Posted by SirLoin

Hey, there's always 864-year old Jamie Moyer. He got released today too....

There are rumors that he faked his birth certificate before he was drafted and is actually a few years older.

Originally Posted by ashburyjohn

There are rumors that he faked his birth certificate before he was drafted and is actually a few years older.

Yes, Moyer is 75 years old. He's actually from the Dominican and his name is Jaime Moyér.

So for all those who think we should give him a shot, how much should we pay him? He made $2M with Kansas City last year; do we offer him a low 7-figure 1-year deal? Do we offer league minimum? Will he sign for that? Just curious as to how much we should gamble on him. Who knows? Sometimes the longshot horse does come in.

Reading the news, looks like Francis signed with Colorado, his former club, yesterday. And started the same day. And got shelled (10 hits, 8 runs, 1 BB, 1K, 3.1 innings). Not a good start to a comeback...