If you're anything like me, you're constantly confusing Ben Francisco with Juan Francisco. Today's news will do absolutely nothing to change that, as the Philadelphia Phillies have traded the Ben Francisco to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Frank Gailey.
Phillies Trade Ben Francisco To Blue Jays
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The first word I saw came from Jon Morosi, who texted the message to Twitter because he’s too good for an app. I say that today’s news will do nothing to stop the confusion because Ben Francisco is changing teams, not names. I guess he won’t be wearing red anymore, which will kind of help.
Francisco is a 30-year-old right-handed outfielder with another two years of arbitration eligibility. You'd think he might be cut out for a platoon, but he's shown pretty much zero platoon split over his career, which admittedly doesn't present a huge sample. He owns a career 103 OPS+ and is leaving one crowded outfield for another. This could free up the Blue Jays to trade Travis Snider, or it could not. I am not the Blue Jays.
Gailey is a short, 26-year-old left-handed reliever who so far has topped out at double-A. That does not bode well. He’s from the Philly area, so if he ever makes it to his new parent club he could be a fan favorite, but he could also be a fan not-favorite in the event that he is bad. He has a lot of work to do and is presently not much.
John Mayberry and Laynce Nix now have a clearer path to playing time. Neat for them! They deserve it.
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