From the Red Sox.
BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today claimed infielder Juan Francisco off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcement.
Francisco, 27, played 106 games for the Blue Jays last season, batting .220 (63-for-287) with 16 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, and 43 RBI. A left-handed batter, 34 of his 63 hits went for extra bases.
He averaged an extra-base hit every 11.8 at-bats, the ninth-best rate among American Leaguers with at least 300 plate appearances. His 34 extra-base hits were the most in the majors among players with no more than 350 plate appearances.
Francisco began 2014 with the Milwaukee Brewers and was released on March 24. He was signed by Toronto as a minor league free agent on April 1 and played 12 games for Triple-A Buffalo, batting .341 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 11 RBI. Selected to the major league roster on April 19, he remained with the Blue Jays for the duration of the season.
Against right-handed pitching, Francisco is a career .248 hitter (213-for-848) with 46 doubles, four triples, 47 home runs and 141 RBI.
Defensively, Francisco has played both first and third base in the major leagues. The majority of his time has come at third base where he has played 197 games (161 starts), compared to 87 games (77 starts) at first.
Over his major league career, the Dominican native has hit .236 (235-for-996) with 50 doubles, four triples, 48 home runs, and 152 RBI in 404 games for the Cincinnati Reds (2009-11), Atlanta Braves (2012-13), Milwaukee Brewers (2013), and Blue Jays (2014).
With today’s transaction, Boston’s 40-man roster is at 36
