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By David Ferraro
July 10, 2009
The Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, two teams that are struggling with inconsistent play in the National League East, swapped two outfielders who have fallen out of grace with their former teams.
The Braves sent Jeff Francoeur and cash to the Mets for Ryan Church on Friday.
Francoeur, a 25 year old free swinging right fielder with a strong arm, came into the league in 2005 as a highly touted prospect and didn't disappoint. He hit 14 home runs and batted .300 in 257 at-bats following a mid-season call up and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting.
In 2006, Francoeur's average dropped to .260, but he belted 29 home runs in his first full season. The next season his average bounced back up to .293 but his power production fell to 19 home runs.
However, a dismal 2008 saw Francouer sent to the minors and he finished the season with just a .239 batting average and a .294 on-base percentage. This year Francoeur is hitting .250 with a .282 on-base percentage.
Church was hitting .280 with 2 home runs for the Mets, but had fallen out of favor with Jerry Manuel after missing third base when rounding third in a close game earlier this year that the Mets went on to lose.
David Ferraro is the administrator of baseball-now.com
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