Although he has missed the entire season due to elbow problems, New York Mets reliever Frank Francisco is currently on the trading block. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com, it is "certainly possible" that the Mets would deal Francisco to a contender looking for bullpen help in the last weeks of the season.
Rubin reports that Francisco has recently come under scrutiny of Mets' team officials who were "upset with his seeming lack of urgency returning to the majors" while earning $6.5 million in the final year of the two-year, $12 million contract he signed before last season. The team still owes Francisco approximately $764K for the rest of the season, and would be willing to send him elsewhere solely for salary relief.
Although Francisco would not be eligible to appear on any team's postseason roster, he is still likely to draw interest from teams looking to add an established arm to aid in their playoff push. The Yankees, who have been dealing with significant bullpen struggles in recent days, are among the teams who would seem to be a good fit for Francisco, who will become a free agent at the end of the season.
In nine major league seasons with the Rangers (2004, 2006-2010), Blue Jays (2011) and Mets (2012-2013), the 33-year old is the owner of a lifetime 20-22 record and 3.92 ERA in 380 career appearances. He served as New York's closer in 2012, registering 23 saves while struggling to a 5.53 ERA on the year.
