The Royals have agreed to sign Jeff Francis to a one-year deal, according to
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The agreement with the Frontline
client is pending a physical.
Francis drew interest from at least seven teams this offseason before
agreeing to sign in Kansas City. The lefty logged 104 1/3 innings and posted
a 5.00 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a healthy 46.8% ground ball rate last
year. He missed the entire 2009 season as he recovered from shoulder surgery.
Once the Royals dealt Zack Greinke, their need for starting pitching became
even more apparent. Their internal rotation candidates include Kyle Davies,
Luke Hochevar, Sean O'Sullivan, Vin Mazzaro and Zach Miner, but GM Dayton
Moore needed more starting pitching depth. Kansas City expressed interest in
Kevin Millwood earlier in the winter and the Scott Boras client remains
unsigned.
With Francis off the board and Carl Pavano nearing an agreement to return to
Minnesota, there are virtually no free agent groundballers remaining.
As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, the Royals have signed Jeff Francoeur
and Melky Cabrera, traded David DeJesus and Greinke away and made a number of
minor deals since the offseason began.
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