Phillies invite Francoeur, seven others to spring training

Nov 13, 2014 - 5:44 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Phillies have announced that they have signed eight players to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training, including veteran outfielder Jeff Francoeur.

Francoeur, 30, has played for the Atlanta Braves (2005-09), New York Mets (2009-10), Texas Rangers (2010), Kansas City Royals (2011-13), San Francisco Giants (2013) and Padres (2014). He won his only career Gold Glove in 2007 with Atlanta and has batted .262 with a .305 on-base percentage and 140 home runs in 1,237 career games.

The Phillies also brought back infielders Andres Blanco and Russ Canzler, who each spent time in the Phillies organization in 2014 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In addition, they signed outfielder Brian Bogusevic, infielder Chase d'Arnaud, catcher John Hester and outfielders Darin Mastroianni and Xavier Paul, all of whom have major league experience.