Prior to Thursday night's rain-out between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, former Phillies' outfielder Jeff Francoeur discussed not returning to the team for his second season.
Francoeur, noted for the positive perspective that he brings to any team, told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't hold any animosity against the organization for choosing not to re-sign him this off-season.
"I've got no hard feelings," Francoeur said. "It's a new regime. They can do what they want. All those guys there, Pete, Larry, I loved them. They helped me out a lot last year. [Hitting coach Steve Henderson]. I've got nothing but love for those guys. … I definitely thought I would be coming back, but then, obviously, different stuff happened. But hopefully in the end it's all going to work out."
In 119 games with the Phillies in 2015, Francoeur revived his big-league career, batting .258 with 13 home runs and 45 RBIs. That said, Fangraphs estimates that he posted a negative oWAR, dWAR and total WAR. Those were just a few advanced metrics that weren't very kind to Francoeur, making the decision not to re-sign the 32-year-old relatively easy for Matt Klentak.
Francoeur elected to return to the team that he began his career with instead, signing a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves in late February. In 41 at-bats this spring, Francoeur has hit .293 with one home run, giving him a chance to potentially make the team's Opening Day roster.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
