You couldn’t have had a more under the radar signing than on November 13, 2014, when the Phillies signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
Francoeur was among a list of seven journeyman players signed on that day. The others included such household names as Xavier Paul, Russ Canzler,= and Brian Bogusevic. There were little expectations with this acquisition as he hadn’t spent a full season in the big leagues since 2012 with Kansas City when he hit .235, with 16 home runs.
Philadelphia was coming into the 2015 season with all left-handed hitting outfielder in Ben Revere, Domonic Brown and Grady Sizemore. Rule 5 selection Odubel Herrea was also in the mix and Francoeur was going to compete for a bench job and part time role. Even, as a now 31-year old, he was still a plus defender and maintained one of the best arms in the league. Offensively, he was a far cry from the guy who knocked in over 100 runs in back-to-back seasons in 2005-2006. This was a guy who had been in five big league teams in five years along with a couple of minor-league stops as well. A veteran presence to fill a hole on a team expected to lose better than 100 games, that’s the most that was expected, but Frenchy gave them a whole lot more.
His impact was felt as early as April 8. Francoeur hit a three-run homer against the Red Sox to give the Phils their first win of the season. There would only be 62 more to celebrate. Most of his damage would come off the bench, hitting .367 as a pinch-hitter. But his most memorable appearance of the 2015 season would come as a relief pitcher.
It was June 16, a warm night at Camden Yards. Another classic outing by Jerome Williams, which lasted all of 2/3 of an inning, followed by Dustin McGowan’s 74 pitches over the 3 1/3, put the Phils bullpen in a world of hurt. Frenchy would volunteer his services and take the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning with the team trailing the Orioles 17-3.
He would get through the seventh unscathed, but in the eighth, the usually free-swinging O's, did not cooperate and drew three walks and a hit batsmen off the outfielder, leading to an unexpected 48-pitch outing. During the inning, pitching Coach Bob McClure came out to offer words of encouragement, but instead received a mouthful from former second baseman Chase Utley, who blasted McClure for leaving his teammate hung out to dry. You might also recall that the team attempted to warm another arm up during his appearance but were unable to get through to bullpen coach Rod Nichols because the phone was off-the-hook.
Through all of this and every one of the team’s 99 losses, Franceour was a calming influence on the Philles young group of outfielders including Herrera, Aaron Altherr, and Darnell Sweeney. The veteran played much more than expected, appearing in 119 games, hitting .258 with 13 home runs and 45 knocked in to go along with five outfield assists. He was having such an impressive season that he was claimed by a contender in August, but the Phillies pulled him off of waivers.
At year’s end, Francoeur and the team showed interest in a return to Philadelphia for the 2016 season, but that will be up to the new president Andy MacPhail and his hand-picked general manager Matt Klentak.
