The Braves were confident when they designated Juan Francisco for assignment last Thursday they would be able to get something in return for him on the trade market. They acquired minor league left-hander Tom Keeling from the Brewers on Monday, in exchange for Francisco, and assigned him to Double-A Mississippi.
Keeling, 25, an 18th round draft pick in 2010 out of Oklahoma State, spent parts of four season with the Brewers advancing as high as Double-A Huntsville. He was 0-1 with 3.18 ERA in 17 relief appearances for Huntsville this season, with 15 hits allowed, 10 walks and 19 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Braves assistant general manager Bruce Manno and other Braves scouts saw Keeling pitch against the Double-A Mississippi Braves recently and came away impressed. His fastball hits 92, 93 mph and he throws from both a three-quarters and side-arm delivery. The Braves project he could pitch at the major-league level in the next couple of years.
“He’s got a real good arm and you can see where he gives left-handers a tough time with his angles,” said Braves general manager Frank Wren, who said the Braves will decide if they want him to continue to pitch from both angles.
Francisco was designated for assignment after the Braves promoted left-handed prospect Alex Wood and returned to full strength with seven relievers in the bullpen. Francisco was the odd man out after hitting .241 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 35 games as a platoon third baseman. He has undeniable raw power but also struck out 43 times in only 108 at-bats. Now Francisco lands a job in Milwaukee, which released former Brave shortstop Alex Gonzalez to make room for him on the roster.
The Braves had 10 days to trade Francisco, put him through waivers and assign him to the minors if he cleared, or release him. But he was out of minor league options, which limited what they could get in return in a trade.
“I think we got a guy that will pitch in the big leagues,” Wren said. “When you’re in a situation where you have a player without a lot of flexibility because he’s out of options, it makes it a little more difficult. You’ve got to find the right mix. We were talking with three or four clubs right down to the end. Some of them felt it would be more of a short-term thing so that limited what they were willing to give up.”
