Jeff Francis, Royals Agree to 1-Year Deal

by FanHouse Staff

Filed under: Rockies, Royals, MLB Rumors, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Free Agency

The list of available free-agent starters continues to dwindle, as Jeff Francis has agreed to a deal with the Royals.

The Royals announced the deal Friday. He'll make $2 million and have a chance to double that with incentives, ESPN reports, but the one-year commitment mostly will give the lefty a chance to demonstrate his ability to produce over a full season before he seeks a new multiyear deal next winter.

Also Friday, the Royals avoided arbitration with Alex Gordon and signed him to a one-year, $1.4 million deal.

Francis, who turned 30 last week, has spent his entire career with the Rockies after Colorado made him the ninth overall pick in the 2002 draft. He went 4-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 20 appearances last season after missing all of 2009 with a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Francis also battled shoulder problems in 2008, the beginning of a downward slide from a three-year stretch that had seen him establish himself as a reliable member of the Rockies' rotation. He played a key role in the Rockies' run to the 2007 World Series, going 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA in 34 regular-season starts that year and winning his starts in the Division Series and NLCS.

It has essentially been downhill since then for Francis, but he'll get a chance to reestablish himself in a low-pressure environment in Kansas City.

 

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