Jeff Francis claimed by Athletics

The Oakland Athletics, owners of the second best record in baseball, are continuing to stockpile pitching.

The team announced on Sunday that they had acquired left-handed starter Jeff Francis from the Cincinnati Reds off of waivers. The Reds had designated the 33-year old for assignment on Friday after just one start for the club. In that one start, Francis went 5 innings and gave up three runs to the Padres. He was the 26th man in their double-header.

Francis will join the major league club after having spent most of the season in the Reds’ Triple-A system. Manager Bob Melvin views the pitcher as a long-relief man who could make spot starts. The Athletics have been scrounging for depth after losing star pitchers Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin for the year. The team has been doing just fine, holding a comfortable 4 game lead in the AL West, but it is unknown how much longer Tommy Milone and Jesse Chavez can maintain their effectiveness over the course of the year.

Jeff Francis has ten years of Major League experience under his belt, having spent most of his time, eight years, with Colorado. He holds a lifetime 4.94 ERA and saw his best season in 2007. In that year, with the Rockies, Francis had a 17-9 record, even with a 4.22 ERA, making a career high 34 starts and finishing 9th in the Cy Young voting.

To create space, the team moved Jake Elmore to the 60-Day DL and sent Joe Savery down to Triple-A. Francis will be available for Oakland on Tuesday as the Athletics play Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg.