Ben Francisco was drafted by the Indians in 2002, played in their system and on the big club through 2009 and then was cast out into the cold, cold non-Ohio world. After tours through Philly, Toronto, Houston and Tampa Bay, with those last three teams all employing him during the 2012 season. He has returned home, however, as the Indians have signed the outfielder to a minor league deal. Well, to his professional home. Dude is form California.
He’s 31 now, and has a career line of .257/.326/.455 with 49 homers in 1,721 career plate appearances. Given how well the organization knows him and given how thin the Indians’ outfield is, he stands a pretty good chance of finding a big league job this year.
