Rays acquire outfielder Ben Francisco from Astros

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired outfielder Ben Francisco from the Houston Astros in exchange for a player to be named later.  He is expected to join the Rays in Toronto tomorrow and a corresponding move for the 40-man roster will be made after tonight’s game.

Francisco, 30, was hitting .247 (21-for-85) with two home runs and five RBI in 31 games with the Astros, who acquired him on July 20 as part of a 10-player trade with the Toronto Blue Jays.  He started the year in Toronto and hit .240 (12-for-50) with two RBI in 27 games, missing a month (May 25-June 24) with a left hamstring injury.

The right-handed hitter has spent six seasons in the majors with the Cleveland Indians (2007-09), Philadelphia Phillies (2009-11), Blue Jays (2012) and Astros (2012).  For his career, he has a .258 batting average, .328 on-base percentage, 47 home runs and 181 RBI.  He has played the majority of his games in left field (212 games) and right field (148).