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Braves trade Francoeur to Marlins in three-team deal
The Marlins were in dire need of outfield depth with Giancarlo Stanton out for the rest of the season and they found it via the Braves.
Atlanta sent Jeff Francoeur to Miami in a three-team deal that also included the Rangers. In exchange, the Braves acquired a pair of prospects -- shortstop Dylan Moore (from Texas) and catcher Matt Foley (via Miami) -- while Texas received three international pool slots.
The 32-year-old Francoeur was in the midst of a bounce-back season in his return to the Braves with a .249/.290/.381 slash line and hit seven home runs with 32 RBI in 276 trips to the plate. That .290 on-base percentage is the best Francoeur has posted since 2011.
Frenchy says goodbye to #Braves teammates before heading off to join #Marlins pic.twitter.com/JRTHEUwU4J
— FOX Sports Southeast (@FOXSportsSE) August 25, 2016
"It's hard. I remember, it seems like yesterday, when I called him in and sent him to the big leagues for the first time (in 2005),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of trading Francoeur. “Then I had the privilege of managing him here, which I'll always cherish, because he's a great kid. He's one of the finest human beings I've ever been around.
“He's just a great teammate. He’s great in this clubhouse. We'll miss him. … Just his presence in the clubhouse, on the field, in the dugout, you can’t describe what he means to a baseball team.”
Moore, 24, has spent the season at High-A High Desert and Single-A Hickory, hitting .263/.377/.440 with 14 homers, 25 doubles and three triples and supplied 59 RBI in 414 at-bats. He's also stolen 40 bases. He was a seventh-round pick in 2015 out of Central Florida.
Foley, 22, played 14 games for Single-A Batavia and rookie-level Gulf Coast this season or the Marlins, hitting .257 in 35 at-bats. He was taken in the 40th round in 2015 out of Rhode Island College.
Francoeur put together a surprising season after joining the team off a minor league contract in the spring, and there was talk that they wouldn't deal him, with the front office pointing to the benefit of the outfielder's leadership.
It's believed the Braves could return Francoeur 2017, something that still remains a possibility given his one-year contract.
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His book, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' is out now, and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners' will be released Nov. 1, 2016.
