Would Juan Francisco Make Sense For New York?

The Boston Red Sox designated corner infielder Juan Francisco for assignment and then non-tendered him to make room on the roster for Pablo Sandoval making Francisco a free agent, would he make sense for the Yankees bench in 2015? In a word, abso-freaking-lutely. Francisco is a first baseman and third baseman in name only at this point in his career, honestly he should be a DH full time, but he can get it done in a pinch. Francisco is not likely to be exposed playing an inning or two here or a game or two a week there. His bat may not be adequate to land an everyday job, even as a DH, but his power would be a welcomed addition to the 2015 edition of the New York Yankees.

Francisco is a career .236 hitter so the team would not be getting a .300 type hitter that is going to change the dynamic of the lineup. Instead the Yankees would be getting a left handed power hitting bench option that could stumble into 10-20 home runs in Yankee Stadium if healthy and productive. Francisco can play some third base and some first base backing up Martin Prado, Chase Headley, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira or whoever else is plugged in between then and now while taking a turn a game a week at the DH position.

At 27 years old Francisco has been asked to come off the bench, fill in at both corners of the infield, hit for power and hit at the bottom half of the lineup. That's nothing more than the Yankees would need or ask of him in 2015 and he makes a ton of sense for what is looking like an offensively deficient team next season.