Q. A part-time role isn’t what you’re after, is it?
A. No, I want to play every day, and the Rangers know that. That’s why I said they’ll have decisions to make. If not, hopefully I’ll go somewhere else. I definitely want to go back, but that stuff will play itself out in the next couple months.
Look, I know everyone wants to play every day, but Francoeur has to appreciate that there are very, very few teams that want to do that with him given his limitations, to put it mildly, against righties. And, no, I will not accept a response that says “hey, he’s just being competitive: there’s nothing wrong with that!” Why? Because he’s going to be a free agent as soon as the Rangers non-tender him, and any team who may be interested in him in a platoon or backup role is going to be scared away if they think he’s going to sulk if he’s not a full-timer. Which he will, because he’s done it before.
If Jeff Francoeur truly wants to play every day, here’s what he needs to do: shut up about wanting to play every day, make noises about being flexible, about being a team player and about wanting to go wherever he can contribute. That way he doesn’t scare off the 25-28 teams in major league baseball that are smart enough not to name him their everyday right fielder. Then, once he’s under contract, Francoeur can work his tail off to improve and impress -- rather than just tell the AJC that he’s going to, like he does every spring -- and make his new team think twice about him being merely a role player. And of course, to be prepared to take over full time in the event of an injury or something.
Jeff Francoeur has been given starting jobs for no good reason for many years now, and has failed to deliver. If he had delivered, sure, maybe voicing his desire to be a starter would be justified. But that hasn’t happened, and because of it he cannot afford to be seen making demands like this in the media.