I asked the question on Monday, "does anyone want Jeff Francoeur?" And today we get somewhat of an answer, "Yes." First from Dave O'Brien, in his blog:
I had someone who’s close to the KC organization ask me just this morning what it would take to get Francoeur. He told me that if Dayton and his assistants had a list of the guys they’d like to trade for, Francoeur is atop it. Seriously. They don’t view him in light of this past season so much as they do for the years he was in the minor league system when Dayton was with the Braves, etc. They LOVE his mental makeup and physical talent.
And then this from The Kansas City Star:
The Braves appear willing to deal Francoeur, who slumped badly last season [...] Officials from both clubs reacted to this bit of gossip by saying no talks have taken place, but that isn’t likely to quell speculation — especially since Francoeur might sit atop Moore’s acquisition wish list.
What would it take?
The Braves could use someone with Teahen’s versatility but have an over-riding need for starting pitching. The likelihood is they, like many other teams, would demand Zack Greinke. And that, probably, would halt any discussion. But would Luke Hochevar be acceptable? Or possibly a top pitching prospect like Danny Cortes? Would the Royals even offer them?
All interesting names for discussion. I'd just like to point out one more time that I brought this up on Monday, pre-calling a Francoeur to the Royals rumor.
If the Braves can swing a pitcher with some upside in return for Francoeur, that might be the best scenario. It was brought up earlier in the week, why would we sell low on Francoeur, but as O'Brien said above, the view of Francoeur is still of a very toolsy talented young hitter. Sometimes baseball people just can't get past projected ability and actually see the stats on paper.