Mets trade deadline retrospective: Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur

One might think the division rival New York Mets and Atlanta Braves haven’t done much to help each other out at the trade deadline. On July 10, 2009, they kind of did.

Outfielder Ryan Church was sent to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur. It was a curious trade considering neither ended up staying with their new ball club for very long.

Remembering the 2009 Mets trade deadline deal with the Braves

Church’s time with the Mets began in 2008 following an offseason deal with another National League East club, the Washington Nationals. Church was a productive member of the Mets in 2008 but he is perhaps best-remembered for the concussion and after-effects which plagued him. He managed to hit .276/.346/.439 for the Mets in 2008 through 90 games on the field.

The following season was productive as well. Church slashed .280/.332/.375 prior to his trade to the Braves. He would later get released by Atlanta in the offseason. He was a good but not great addition to the Braves roster.

Meanwhile, Francoeur had an incredibly strong finish with the 2009 Mets. He went from hitting .250/.282/.352 with Atlanta to becoming a .311/.338/.498 hitter with the Mets. In fewer at-bats, he also doubled his home run total from 5 to 10. Frenchy was becoming a fast fan-favorite.

The good times didn’t continue into 2010. Francoeur hit only .237/.293/.369 for the Mets. On August 31, they traded him to the Texas Rangers. He’d bounce around a ton over the years. He even ended up back with the Braves in his final season in 2016. Of course, he was traded one final time in 2016 from the Braves to the Miami Marlins. This came after the 2015 season where he spent time with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Church and Francoeur are two memorable Mets outfielders whose time with the team was brief. It makes a lot of sense why they were traded for one another.