Padres call up would-be pitcher Jeff Francoeur
By Dan Zinski
The trade-happy Padres may be looking to the future more than the present right now, but they still need to field a team for the rest of this season. Warm bodies are still required in San Diego, and with that in mind the Padres have called up former Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur.
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“Warm body” is probably the best way to describe Francoeur. “Smart man” is probably not a term you would use to characterize Francoeur after the prank that was pulled on him by his minor league teammates earlier this year.
This time when Francoeur comes back to the majors, he will have a little extra value added: the ability to pitch. Francoeur logged some mop-up innings while toiling in El Paso, and supposedly showed a low-90s fastball and a decent slider.
The way things are going for San Diego, I would not be shocked if Francoeur ends up as their closer by the end of the season. For the time-being, the plan is to use Francoeur as an outfielder.
How much hitting the Padres will get out of Francoeur is anyone’s guess. He batted just .204 last year between the Giants and Royals in 245 total at-bats. In 2012 with Kansas City, he hit .235 in 561 ABs with 16 homers.
He likely isn’t going to help San Diego’s historically pitiful offense, nor will he be much help to their decimated pitching staff. But his name is fun to say, so there’s that.
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