WEDNESDAY: Francoeur will earn $1MM if he makes the Braves’ roster, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. Another $1MM is available in incentives, and Francoeur can ask for a release if he isn’t on the Major League roster by March 31.
MONDAY: The Braves have announced that they’ve signed former star outfielder Jeff Francoeur on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. Francoeur is a client of CSE.
Francoeur, of course, finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting as a 21-year-old with the Braves in 2005 and played parts of five seasons in Atlanta before being shipped to the Mets for Ryan Church in 2009. Since then, he’s also appeared with the Rangers, Royals, Giants and Padres. He hit .258/.286/.433 in 343 plate appearances for the rebuilding Phillies in 2015, demonstrating good power but characteristically poor control of the strike zone (with just 13 walks).
Francoeur has a reputation as a good player to have in the clubhouse, however, so perhaps if he makes the Braves as a bench player he can help mentor their young roster. The Braves do already have a large contingent of veteran outfielders, with Nick Markakis, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and now Francoeur joining Ender Inciarte and Hector Olivera.