Reds sign Jeff Francis to a minor legue deal

I was hoping the Mets would have signed him as they badly need starting pitching depth . Santana's status is somewhat uncertain as well. so he could have helped.

4 months ago graves9 20 comments 0 recs |

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Gee, that means another month of Chris Young.

by bob c on Jan 25, 2012 11:10 PM EST reply actions

Surprised he couldn't get a major league deal.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 26, 2012 9:06 AM EST reply actions

Surprised Gina isn't on this thread yet, moaning #fireSMSandy

She’s been lobby to sign Francis for quite a few seasons

In lobby for: Jaime Cevallos, Zack Lutz, orange unis and Rickroll as the 7th inning song.
The Unwritten Rules of AA

by Michkin on Jan 26, 2012 10:18 AM EST up reply actions

I'm sick about this one...

The fact that he took a minor league deal and the Mets with their problems did’nt swoop in to get him is terrible. But they had over a million for Ronny Cedeno…. Pathetic..

Undefeated is the new "Winning".
Duh, undefeated....

by The real Julio from Paterson on Jan 26, 2012 10:06 AM EST reply actions

Hey at least they'll get thirty good innings from Chris Young

And a 160-170 bad to terrible innings from Gee. That’s good right?

by graves9 on Jan 26, 2012 10:33 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Gee's stock is actually kind of high. If we could flip him...

Yogi on the 1969 NY Mets....." overwhelming underdogs "

by SuperSantana on Jan 29, 2012 9:18 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe if he was able to strike out more batters, fix his control problems, and/or give up fewer home runs, he’d have some legitimate value to other teams. Then again, it’d probably be better to keep him if he did that.

by MetsFanXXIII on Jan 29, 2012 10:21 PM EST up reply actions

Gee did have a bunch of "Wins" last year

but I don’t know if there are any GM’s stupid enough to be fleeced just going on that

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf. "

– Tug McGraw when asked about his preference for grass or astroturf

by Terry_is_God on Jan 29, 2012 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

I'm sure there are, but we're better off keeping him for now.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jan 29, 2012 11:25 PM EST up reply actions

I think it's high compared to his original expectations as #5/long man.

He seems to be gaining the “winner” rep just because he A)happened to win a good amount of games in 2011, though it was because he happened to get solid run support and B)because he appears to be calm, cool and collected when he’s on the mound. It’s all about perception. He was basically the same pitcher as Mike Pelfrey in 2011, except the difference is that Gee had low expectations due to his late-round draft status, unassuming FB velocity and his slow/steady climb up the ladder, while Pelfrey came into the league with sky high expectations that he didn’t quite reach.

I think we’ll see Gee moderately improve in 2012. I’m not a huge fan but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility to see his BB rate fall a bit. Even still, I hope the plan is to build up his value, let him pitch for the team in his pre-arb years and then deal him once the better pitchers start to surface in the big leagues and Gee begins to get more expensive in arbitration.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Jan 30, 2012 12:08 AM EST up reply actions

It's not about who gets to the player first

They are people with minds of their own. Cincinnati is a much better team than NYM and when you have nothing else to hang your hat on as a player, you want to earn your ring.

37 - 14 - 41 - 31 - 17 - 42 - SHEA

by piazza62 on Jan 26, 2012 11:47 AM EST up reply actions

That's very possible

He would have a much better chance to start for the Mets than the Reds as Chapman and Bailey are competing for a spot in the rotation. The Mets have Dillon Gee, who sucks and Santana who’s coming off a major injury and may no be ready to start the season.I’m surprised he choose Cincy.

by graves9 on Jan 26, 2012 12:02 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Well then his mind is not thinking ahead

to the trade deadline, where a healthy and successful Francis could get traded to a team that is one SP away from the postseason. Personally, if I wanted to make the playoffs but could only get minor league offers from these teams, I would choose the team expected to not be so good over the team expected to be fringy, and coming off a disappointing season. The team not expected to be so good might be miserable for a few months, though this is NYC we talking about, but if I pitch well then I will be getting traded for by a team that is definitely a contender. You see my line of thinking? I didn’t write it well

2012 New York Mets, World Series Champions!

by astromets on Jan 26, 2012 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

What you're saying makes all the sense in the world.

by graves9 on Jan 26, 2012 1:26 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Funny...

It didn’t work out that way for Chris Capuano last year (the getting traded part). It’s not like Francis is guaranteed a spot by signing a minor league deal with the Mets. They could easily hand Gee a rotation spot in a rebuilding year just to see what he does with it and Santana could very well be healthy. Point is, with both teams, he’d be hoping for either injuries or to have a young, cheap pitcher struggle in order to get a shot.

And that doesn’t even factor in motivations like wanting to pitch for a contender or geography. I would’ve liked Francis as depth but he decided to go elsewhere. Oh well. There are other guys out there.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Jan 26, 2012 2:25 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

was there ever any (reported) interested in Cap

because I don’t remember hearing about it

2012 New York Mets, World Series Champions!

by astromets on Jan 26, 2012 2:41 PM EST up reply actions

The Red Sox tried to trade for him late in the year.

by graves9 on Jan 26, 2012 3:47 PM EST up reply actions

They were trying to trade for/sign anyone late in the year.

Bruce Chen almost started the last game of the year.

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jan 26, 2012 7:23 PM EST up reply actions

There was interest in Capuano

from a number of teams at the deadline, in August and even when the Red Sox tried to acquire him the last week of the season in September. Apparently, they didn’t get enough in terms of offers to want to deal him and then have to trot out Chris Schwinden or Pat Misch for the rest of the season. That’s my whole point with Francis…Capuano and Francis are similar pitchers (and Capuano is arguably better than Francis). If they couldn’t extract much value for Capuano, I’d be surprised if they could extract more from a lesser pitcher in Francis (unless some team goes nuts and offers something stupid in return, basically).

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!
You might know me as mistermet.

by Steve Schreiber on Jan 26, 2012 6:02 PM EST up reply actions