Two big bats signed minor league deals in Florida over the weekend. Tyler Colvin and Juan Francisco will be heading to spring training on low risk deals for new teams. Both have very legitimate shots at making their respective rosters on Opening Day.
The Tampa Bay Rays continued their reconstruction by picking up Juan Francisco. Francisco was signed by the Cincinnati Reds back in 2004 out of the Dominican Republic. He made his major league debut with the Reds in 2009 and played parts of three seasons with the team before heading to Atlanta. Francisco shaped into the player he is today once with the Braves: a home run basher that will produce very little else at the plate.
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Francisco has never had more than 350 at bats in a season, but he has shown he can make the most of them. Last season with the Toronto Blue Jays, he slugged 16 home runs in just 287 at bats in a platoon. His plate discipline was the same, however, as he slashed .220/.291/.456 while striking out 116 times. Now, at age 27, Francisco looks to stick with the Rays. It won’t be an easy task, as Evan Longoria and James Loney have first and third base locked down with Logan Forsythe on the bench.
Tyler Colvin is heading to Miami. He was drafted in the first round, selected 13th overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 2006 draft. The left-handed first baseman and outfielder made a big splash in his rookie season. It looked like the Cubs were onto something as he belted 20 home runs in 358 at bats. His slash line wasn’t the greatest (.254/.316/.500) but it left the Cubs with something in which to hope.
Colvin’s follow up season was not as impressive and he was sent to Colorado in the Ian Stewart trade. Colvin had the finest year of his career slashing .290/.327/.531 while hitting 18 home runs and batting in a career high 72 runs. In the two season’s since Colvin has barely been on the field appearing in a combined 84 games. He hit an abysmal .160 in 2013 and bounced back somewhat in a reserve role for the World Champion San Francisco Giants batting .223.
The 29-year old has a solid chance of breaking camp with the Marlins. The only true backup outfielder they have is Martin Prado and he should be their Opening Day third baseman. If Colvin gets a chance to play in that young and fiery lineup, we could catch a glimpse of the once-promising superstar the Cubs envisioned when they drafted him.