Juan Francisco

[Guacarock]

Yeah but I didn't think they needed to in order to bring someone up. They DFA Balentien and Miles and signed Nix and Cairo. Unless there's someone else they needed to clear room for on the 40 man, Leake can just take Edison's spot.

Volquez's spot was already filled by the signing of Gomez. Balentien and Miles' spots were filled by Nix and Cairo. So, even if Francisco goes down to AAA to clear space for Leake on the 25-man roster, someone else will have to get bounced off the 40-man roster as well.

Will be interesting to see who gets removed. The most likely candidates, if you ask me, include Cairo, Nix, Lincoln, Fisher and Viola. There could also be a surprise deal in the works, involving someone like Maloney, Lecure, Sutton or Valaika. We'll see what shakes down soon enough.

[HokieRed]

Rather than deal any of the above-mentioned from a position of weakness--which it seems like we'd be doing--I hope they just do it real cleanly: Cairo out, Leake in.

[Sea Ray]

He reminds me of Darryl Ward. Whether he ever plays fulltime in the big leagues is more dependent on his defense that his pitch selection. If he could play a position I think the Reds would be starting him

[reds44]

The move that would make the most sense is DFA Cairo, but that would seem pretty cruel.

I guess you could DFA Lincoln, send down Francisco and call up Leake and a guy like Burton.

[Will M]

The Reds have faced three straight right handed starters & Francisco hasn't gotten a start in LF vs any of them.

IMO he needs to either go to AAA and play everyday or he can stay here & get 400 PAs. How? he plays LF vs a RH starter & fills in at 1B/3B. He can also pinch hit. While he is here he works daily on his defense.

the worst thing to do is have him here in Cincinnati but not get to play much. thats a perfectly ok role for a 5th outfielder type but not for a youngster with upside.

[Jpup]

The Reds have faced three straight right handed starters & Francisco hasn't gotten a start in LF vs any of them.

IMO he needs to either go to AAA and play everyday or he can stay here & get 400 PAs. How? he plays LF vs a RH starter & fills in at 1B/3B. He can also pinch hit. While he is here he works daily on his defense.

the worst thing to do is have him here in Cincinnati but not get to play much. thats a perfectly ok role for a 5th outfielder type but not for a youngster with upside.

I believe that's why he's going to be out when Leake get's placed on the roster. Louisville doesn't play until Sunday anyway. No harm for him being around the club for a few more days. I would imagine Lincoln is going to get sent home.

[dougdirt]

I believe that's why he's going to be out when Leake get's placed on the roster. Louisville doesn't play until Sunday anyway. No harm for him being around the club for a few more days. I would imagine Lincoln is going to get sent home.

Louisville started its season last night.

[reds44]

Francisco (and Cairo) were taking ground balls at 1B during bating practice today, if that means anything.

[Will M]

Well Juan punched his ticket to AAA today. I believe he had 4 Ks. The Cubs pitchers also knew that they didn't have to throw the ball anywhere near the plate. JF is just not ready for the show. He needs to work both on his plate discipline & his defense.

[fearofpopvol1]

Well Juan punched his ticket to AAA today. I believe he had 4 Ks. The Cubs pitchers also knew that they didn't have to throw the ball anywhere near the plate. JF is just not ready for the show. He needs to work both on his plate discipline & his defense.

Jocketty would be wise to trade him if he can and try to sell as high as possible.

[HokieRed]

He's got a shorter stroke, better hand action, and better hip movement than Wily Mo Pena ever showed. I didn't say he had a short stroke; I said he had a "relatively short one" and he does for somebody with his kind of power.

I stand corrected. Regretfully he needs a lot of time in AAA and looks a lot like WMP.

[Scrap Irony]

It's not his swing that's a problem-- it's his pitch selection. If he ever gets that down, he'd be awesome. The problem, of course, is his ability to lay off that pitch.

[Mario-Rijo]

It's not his swing that's a problem-- it's his pitch selection. If he ever gets that down, he'd be awesome. The problem, of course, is his ability to lay off that pitch.

So you think he'd have no problem with those change ups/breaking pitches had they been in the strike zone?

[nate]

It's not his swing that's a problem-- it's his pitch selection. If he ever gets that down, he'd be awesome. The problem, of course, is his ability to lay off that pitch.

His swing is longer than something very long.