With all of the rumors swirling around the Major League club, the Phillies made some minor league signings today, completing agreements with eight players as non-roster invitees, including Jeff Francoeur.
Phillies sign OF Jeff Francoeur and seven others to Minor League contracts as non-roster invitees to spring training.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 13, 2014
Francoeur, 30, spent the majority of 2014 with the Triple-A affiliate of the Padres in El Paso. While with the Chihuauas, the former big leaguer hit .289 with 15 homers and 69 RBI's in 115 games. Perhaps the most notable Franceour moments was when his teammates played a couple of pranks on him. They got him to believe for about a month that one of his teammates was deaf and another time, they locked him in the coach's bathroom. Watch those videos, they are quite hilarious. Across 10 seasons in the majors, Francoeur spent time with the Braves, Mets, Giants, Rangers, Royals and Padres. He has a career slash line of .262/.305/.417.
Here are the other minor league signings the Phils announced:
Andres Blanco, 30, saw some time with the Phillies in 2014 as a utility middle infielder. Blanco appeared in 25 games and hit .277 (13-for-47) with five doubles. He hit .241 in 137 at-bats with the Ironpigs last season as well.
Russ Canzler, 28, spent his 2014 in both the Yankees and Phillies Triple-A organizations. Combined between the two, the third baseman hit .276 with 32 doubles, 13 homers and 58 RBI.
Brian Bogusevic, 30, was in the Marlins system last year with the New Orleans Zephyrs in Triple-A. The corner outfielder hit .260 with six homers and 33 RBI in 265 at-bats. In 2013, he hit .317 in 79 games for the Iowa Cubs.
Chase d'Arnaud, 27, is brother of former Phillies prospect and now Mets catcher, Travis d'Arnaud. Travis was involved in the deal that brought Roy Halladay to Philadelphia. Chase plays inflied and outfied and appeared in eight games for the Pirates last season, but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A Indianapolis. Chase hit .250 and stole 30 bases to go along with 16 doubles and nine triples in 2014.
John Hester, 31, will provide some organizational depth at catcher for the Phillies. In 93 Major League games, Hester hit .216 (45-for-208). After seeing time with the Angels in 2012, Hester spent last season with their Triple-A team in Salt Lake. He hit .261 (63-for-241) with six homers and 29 RBI.
Darin Mastroianni, 29, spent the majority of his 2014 season manning center field for Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A squad for the Blue Jays after appearing in four games for the Rochester Red Wings, the Twins Triple-A team. Mastroianni has very little Major League time, but has a career .278 average in the minors since being drafted in 2007. Last season with Buffalo, he hit .267 in 88 games and stole 20 bases.
Xavier Paul, 29, has 349 games under his belt at the Major League level. In 693 at-bats between thr D'Backs, Dodgers, Pirates and Reds, he hit .250 with 12 homers and 71 RBI. Paul was a member of the Orioles Triple-A affiliate for most of last season. In 81 games with the Tides, Paul hit .254 with 12 homers and 54 RBI.
All of the signings will report to spring training.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
