The Nationals signed outfielder/first baseman Franchy Cordero to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media. There are conflicting reports over whether or not the deal includes an invitation to the Nats’ big league spring camp, as Leighton writes that Cordero got an invite while the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden writes otherwise.
Cordero returns to North American baseball after a year spent with the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. More specifically, most of Cordero’s time was spent with the Lions’ top minor league affiliate, as he played only 23 games with the Lions and struggled to a .129/.151/.200 over 73 NPB plate appearances.
It was hardly the performance Cordero was hoping for in his trip to Japan, which could be why (as per Golden’s report) Washington only issued him an invite to its minor league Spring Training site. Regardless of the exact nature of Cordero’s contract, the minor league deal is a no-risk move for the Nationals to look at Cordero first-hand and see what he can still bring to the table as he enters his age-30 season.
Cordero hit .217/.283/.395 with 27 home runs over 797 PA and 251 games with the Padres, Royals, Red Sox, and Yankees from 2017-23. Despite the lack of production, it was easy to see why so multiple teams kept taking chances on Cordero, as his power potential, exit velocity numbers, and plus speed gave the impression that a breakout was just around the corner. However, Cordero’s 34.9% career strikeout rate minimized his impact, as pitchers were often able to turn Cordero’s aggressive approach at the plate into a minus rather than a plus.
Defensively, Cordero has experience at first base and at all three outfield positions, though he isn’t considered to be much of a fielder. Washington’s minor league depth chart doesn’t have many players with MLB experience at first base or in the outfield, so the Nationals could be viewing Cordero solely as a Triple-A backup plan.
franchy
Franchy Cordero, is capable of things that are super human. Sadly, these feats are a rare occurrence.
Watched him in Peoria early on his career in ST and he had the tools. Just couldn’t use them consistently for some reason. He and Franimal both.
I remember when he was with the Padres he hit a 489 foot homer vs the D backs. Usually with an effortless swing too.
Wonder if Franimal’s ever gonna make it back to the show. He’s had a couple of solid years overseas, and is somehow only 29.
Imagine a Yu-Gi-Oh card with that description of Franchy Cordero, that would be hilarious
So much power and speed but so many other problems playing baseball
His brief appearance in the Bronx still gives me nightmares. Ahahahahaha!
I’m just waiting for some Sasaki rumors.
Dude can hit em a mile. But that’s about where it ends with Franchy
I remember watching him in the minors thinking that he swings like Darryl Strawberry. I was really hoping he would piece things together.
My father said when Strawberry was a rookie, he had the best swing he saw since Ted Williams, Franchy is definitely not to be compared with Strawberry never mind Williams. Having witnessed Franchy hit it a mile, such was too rare of an occurrence to in my view waste a minor league spot on him. Having nothing against him, I hope I’m wrong.
I don’t mean any disrespect to your dad’s opinion. There are videos available showing their respective swings. Ted Williams does not have similar hitting mechanics as Darryl Strawberry. While both great hitters, Strawberry’s longer stride complemented his tall, lanky build, enabling him to generate tremendous leverage and torque; similar to Franchy. Williams, with his shorter, more controlled stride, relied on his exceptional mechanics and hip rotation for power. While this is more about their approach than mechanics, Williams was meticulous about pitch selection, aiming to get a good pitch to hit. Strawberry, while powerful, was sometimes more aggressive and prone to chasing pitches outside the zone;similar to Franchy. Unfortunately, all of the tools didn’t lead to success for Franchy and would benifit from watching Williams as he is relying more on raw talent and athleticism that a methodical approach. Feel free to watch them side-by-side and form your own opinion. Youtube has some excellent slow motion film breaking down each.
“It felt wrong not to swing.”
WTH cares.
Yer mom for one, wait- hang on… yup, yer sister makes two.
“No risk contract”??
He’s a bad corner defender with a 73 OPS+ over the last 3 years. He’s sub-replacement level. He has no upside.
Every PA he takes, every inning he plays in the minors is time he takes away from someone who might actually contribute a few productive PAs for a contending Nats team in 2026 or 2027.
Unless someone in the Nats org is paying off a debt this is the kind of signing that, while trivial, says a great deal about a FO.
All he has is upside, as evidenced by yet another swing by another club. Your second paragraph is correct, though.
When you can’t hit in the NPB it’s time to try the KBO, if that doesn’t work Mexico. If that fails then there’s probably a beer league softball team somewhere looking for ringers
Maybe Savannah Bananas?
Yet another option
His best days may be behind him, but I feel like this is a decent MiLB signing. He can at least teach the younguns a thing or two and recant his many tales of The Show. Best wishes Franchy!
This Nats fan implores “why, Lord, why?” This seems like a total waste of a move, even in terms of throwing spaghetti at a wall.