BRADENTON, FLA. — In the early stages of the Frenchy evolution, maybe this would not have been a trip for Jeff Francoeur. He might have stayed back in Orlando with the rest of the alpha Braves instead of humping it to the coast to play a spring game in the kind of stiff, cool breeze that gets a tourist’s Tommy Bahamas all in a twist.
But Monday was an afternoon custom designed for the 2016 version of Francoeur — an opportunity to let someone else rest while he tested himself against some crafty left-handed pitching. That is just about the Linkedin profile of what his job is these days.
The rather improbable return of the prodigal outfielder had a good enough day Monday. Francoeur went 2-for-3 with an RBI, one single coming off the lefty Francisco Liriano and, as a bonus, another off the right-handed Daniel Bard. Hits were in no short supply this afternoon, the Braves mass producing 14 of them in a 7-3 win.
With the spring games two-thirds complete, a week-and-half before breaking camp and the Braves making the last of some hard decisions, the Francoeur update reads: .324 in 37 at-bats with a couple doubles and a home run. He has shown himself capable at all outfield posts, although as he laughingly admits, “Can I play centerfield for a month? Hell no.”
Not that Francoeur at this stage of his life is going to get all caught up in some March numbers that have less staying power than pollen in the rain.
“I just want to be comfortable, produce, have good at-bats, that’s a big thing. Whether I hit .260 or .340 — just have good ABs,” he said.
“You don’t want to hit .052 (in the spring) but at the same time I don’t tell myself I have to hit .350 to make the team.” So, for all that thus far, mission accomplished.
The outfield has gotten no less crowded since Francoeur arrived in late February, signed to a speculative minor league contract. Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn still have big contracts to accommodate. Nick Markakis is still fixed in right. Ender Inciarte (center) and Hector Olivera (left) are the lead options at their spots. Emilio Bonafacio still can be plugged in just about anywhere on the field.
The Francoeur who broke in so spectacularly with his hometown Braves, prematurely tagged as The Natural by Sports Illustrated in 2006, has long ago been replaced by a guy who is completing his career as a committed grinder. He’s the one doing whatever’s necessary now, caulking the gaps (like hitting .367 as a pinch-hitter last year with Philadelphia, with 11 pinch-hit RBI). Since being traded by the Braves in 2009, he has found work with six different teams.
As he reaffirmed Monday: “I thoroughly enjoyed my role last year in Philly, getting 300 ABs (343 precisely, hitting .258 with 13 home runs and 45 RBI), playing against lefties, some righties. I was a great pinch-hitter last year. All those things happen and you say, hey, I still got some years ahead of me when I think I can contribute. Hopefully that is here.”
All the emotional attachments to Francoeur aside, the decision facing the Braves won’t be a simple one. In merely comparing him head-to-head with Bonafacio — who played center Monday, going 1-for-6 leading off — manager Fredi Gonzalez emphasized his point that the call on the outfield composition, “will go right to the end, something we’re going to discuss for a long, long time in that last cut meeting.”
“So many variables you’re thinking about,” Gonzalez said. “You’re thinking about Bonafacio’s flexibility, how he can play multiple positions including the infield, the speed factor, and he’s a switch hitter. Francoeur’s a guy who scares the opponent when he comes to the plate because he can hit a home run.”
All the while, the 32-year-old Francoeur has gone about his work with the same light-heartedness that he evidenced as a rookie.
He fell right into life in the Braves clubhouse, as if he was coming back home. That first day back another returned Brave, Kelly Johnson, asked him how it felt. “I told him it felt like I never left. He said that’s exactly how it felt for him last year,” Francoeur said. “I credit that a lot to the familiar faces from the clubhouse guys to a lot of the coaches.”
And he has heard himself giving advice to younger players, the same words that he heard from Braves veterans a decade ago that he admits he heeded only to varying degrees.
He has, in the meantime, done nothing to make the Braves decision on his immediate future any easier.
