MLB Free Agents Rumors: Will Jeff Francoeur, Philadelphia Phillies Part Ways in the Offseason?
The Philadelphia Phillies was the first MLB team to be mathematically eliminated for the 2014-2015 season. It became official after the 8-1 defeat against the Atlanta Braves and as of now, they have a record of 57-96 which is worst in the league.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the lowest point of the season for the Phillies was their 19-3 loss against the Baltimore Orioles last June. It featured outfielder Jeff Francoeur as a pitcher wherein Chase Utley got into a shouting match with pitching coach Bob McClure because they can't get in touch with the bullpen due to the phone being off the hook.
That "embarrassing" moment eventually led to manager Ryne Sandberg quitting his job. Senior vice-president and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was fired towards the end of August.
The Phillies have four impending free agents: Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang, Jeff Francouer and Jerome Williams. One of them, outfielder Francouer, is interested in returning to Philadelphia, according to CSN Philly.
"There's mutual interest in me coming back.They've got a lot going on in the front office with the general manager search, with Pete Mackanin taking over as manager. Like anything else, there will be an appropriate time to address it, but there's mutual interest," the 31-year-old said.
Even though he's only hitting .257 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs, Francoeur is a much-needed veteran voice in the clubhouse and mentor to younger players as the Phillies start their rebuilding process. Even though he is relatively young, the right-handed hitter has been around in the league for 10 years.
He made his major league debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2005, playing for them for four seasons before being traded to the New York Mets. He then bounced around the league as a journeyman, playing for Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres before ending up in Philadelphia.
The Phillies basically started their rebuild when they traded their all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the start of the season, as per CSN Philly. According to ESPN, this was followed by the trade of their ace pitcher, left-hander Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers before the deadline last July 30. MLB.com revealed that his no-hitter against the Chicago five days before was arguably the highlight of the Phillies disastrous season.
The 2008 World Series champions are not done dealing as first baseman Ryan Howard is reportedly on the trading block with the Baltimore Orioles as his possible destination. The Phillies are also in the hunt for a new general manager that cab possibly decide the future of the veterans on the team, as per another report from ESPN.
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