Frank Francisco Activated From Disabled List

Relief pitcher Frank Francisco, who has missed the entire season after having minor surgery on his pitching elbow over the winter, has been activated by the Mets.

Feb 21, 2013; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Frank Francisco (48) poses for a picture during photo day at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been reported that Francisco was milking his injury for the majority of the season, stopping and starting his rehab program for no good reason.  In other words, there was nothing physically wrong with him, but he was content to remain mostly inactive in Port St. Lucie while collecting his $6.5 million dollar salary.

In addition, Francisco reportedly told Jenrry Mejia to forget about rehabbing his own injury.  Instead, Francisco advised Mejia to ease off  his rehab while remaining on the disabled list and continuing to receive his major league salary.  Mejia ignored Francisco’s advice, and worked hard to return to the majors this year – where he thrived.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the fact that Francisco has been activated is a surprise:

"Team insiders had suggested Sandy Alderson was unlikely to allow Francisco back on the major league roster, so bringing him back could signal the Mets may intend to trade the ex-closer — even though Francisco would not be eligible for another team’s postseason roster."

 Thoughts:

I really hope Rubin is correct in his belief that Francisco was only activated so Sandy Alderson could explore a potential trade.

Frankly, the way Francisco acted this year (lazily collecting his salary while not caring about the team), was enough for him to not be allowed to re-join the major league club.

The fact that he tried to negatively influence Jenrry Mejia could’ve been grounds for the Mets to take action against him.

Francisco is a disgrace, and if he appears on the mound at any point for the Mets the rest of the way, it’ll be a shame.  He should be rotting in the minors, far away from the players who actually give a damn about this team.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow@RisingAppleBlog on Twitter and Instagram, and Like Rising Apple’s Facebook page to keep up with the latest news, rumors, and opinion.