Francisco has appeared in 387 major league games with three different teams since 2004, going 20-22 with a 3.93 ERA with 73 career saves. He saved 23 games in 48 appearances with the New York Mets in 2012, although his ERA was a less-than-impressive 5.53. An elbow injury limited Francisco to just eight appearances with the Mets last season.
Is Francisco healthy? That's the main question, but you can hardly blame the Sox for seeking out potential bullpen options right now.
The Sox' bullpen ranks last in the American League with a 6.93 ERA. Opponents are batting a league-high .295 against Sox relievers, who have issued a league-high 26 walks. The Sox (7-6) have managed a winning record through the first two weeks of the season in spite of their struggling bullpen.
I don't know if Francisco is any kind of answer, but there's no harm is stashing him in Triple-A for the time being to find out if he's a candidate to help the major league bullpen at some point this season.
I can't believe this guy is still in baseball. I think he was my closer 2 or 3 years ago and that was by default.
ReplyDeleteThe White Sox have a number of relievers who are lucky they are still in $#&%ing baseball. Over a period of three innings Wednesday night, Boston scored three runs against the White Sox bullpen on seven walks, an HBP and an infield single. The Red Sox overcame a two-run deficit and took a one-run lead without a single base hit into the outfield. It was like watching Little League.
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