Franchy Cordero Vargas (born September 2, 1994) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and has also played for the Kansas City Royals and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Listed at and , he bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

Career

San Diego Padres

Cordero signed with the

as an international free agent in November 2011. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Dominican Summer League Padres The Dominican Summer League Padres or DSL Padres are a Rookie League affiliate of the San Diego Padres based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Dominican Summer League. As an independent affiliate, they have been in existence since 1997. ...

and spent the whole season there, batting .270 with one home run and 38 RBIs in 61 games. In 2013, he played for the

Arizona League Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also ...

where he slashed .333/.381/.511 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 35 games. Cordero started 2014 with the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

and was demoted to the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...

during the season. In 83 total games between the two teams he batted .255 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs. He spent 2015 with Fort Wayne where he compiled a .243 batting average with five home runs and 34 RBIs in 126 games. Cordero opened the 2016 season with the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

. During July of the same season, he was promoted to the San Antonio Missions. He also played four games for the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

at the end of the season. In 137 games between the three clubs he batted .290/.344/.450 with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. The Padres added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Cordero began the 2017 season with El Paso. The Padres promoted Cordero to the Major Leagues on May 27, 2017, as regular center fielder

Manuel Margot Manuel Margot Gomez (born September 28, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres. Minor league career Boston Red Sox The Bost ...

went to the disabled list with a strained calf. He made his major league debut that day,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

against

Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Strasburg was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the 2009 Major League ...

as a pinch hitter. Cordero started hot, collecting 19 hits in his first 17 games, but then only had one hit in his final 10 games before he was sent back to El Paso on Margot's return. He returned to the Padres for 3 more games in July when Margot was on the paternity list, but finished the season with El Paso. In 93 games for El Paso he slashed .326/.369/.603 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs, and in 30 games for the Padres he batted .228/.276/.424 with three home runs and nine RBIs, making 22 starts in center and one in left. Cordero began 2018 on the disabled list with a groin injury, and reported to the Padres after he was activated in early April. He was the Padres regular starter in left field before he was sent to the disabled list on May 28 with forearm soreness. Cordero began a rehab assignment in El Paso in June, but pain in his right elbow led to the diagnosis of a bone spur after an MRI. Surgery on the elbow ended Cordero's Major League season, but he played in the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. He finished the regular season hitting .237/.307/.439 with 9 home runs, making 22 starts in left field, 10 in center, and 4 in right. On April 20, he hit the second-longest home run in MLB for 2018, at 489 feet.

Kansas City Royals

On July 16, 2020, the Padres traded Cordero and Ronald Bolaños to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Tim Hill. On August 9, 2020, he was placed on the 10-day injured list, but was then transferred to the 45-day injured list on August 10, after suffering a wrist injury. Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Cordero batted .211 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 16 games.

Boston Red Sox

On February 10, 2021, the Royals traded Cordero to the

as part of a three-team trade in which the Royals acquired

Andrew Benintendi Andrew Sebastian Benintendi (born July 6, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and New York Yank ...

and cash considerations. The Red Sox also acquired

Josh Winckowski Joshua Winckowski (born June 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed. Career Toronto Blue Jays Winckowski is from Toledo, Ohio ...

and three

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, and the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

acquired Khalil Lee. During spring training, Cordero was on the COVID-19 related injured list from February 22 until March 30. After batting .179 in 34 games with Boston, Cordero was optioned to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. The ...

on May 27. After hitting .329 in 44 games in Triple-A, Cordero was recalled to Boston on July 22. He was optioned back to Worcester on August 16, and recalled briefly in early September. Overall during the regular season, Cordero appeared in 48 games for Boston, batting .189, and 78 games for Worcester, where he had a .300 average. On October 21, Cordero was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Red Sox; he cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A four days later. In spring training in 2022, Cordero competed with

Travis Shaw Travis Richard Shaw (born April 16, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays—his nickname is Mayor of ...

, Rob Refsnyder, Christin Stewart, Jonathan Araúz, and Yolmer Sánchez for one of two available spots on Boston's Opening Day roster. He began the season with Worcester, then was added to Boston's active roster on April 29. Cordero was optioned back to Triple-A on August 2, when the team made several trade deadline moves. Cordero was activated for Boston's neutral-site game of August 21, the MLB Little League Classic, then remained with the team, as

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox ...

was placed on the injured list prior to Boston's next game. Cordero was placed on the 60-day injured list on September 7, ending his season, due to a right ankle sprain sustained in a game two days prior. For the season, he appeared in 84 games for Boston and batted .219 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs while playing defensively at first base and in all three outfield positions. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18, 2022.

Baltimore Orioles

On December 2, 2022, Cordero signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

Scouting report

Cordero is considered to have elite speed, leading all the minor leagues in triples in 2016 and 2017, and ranking in the top 3% of qualified major league players in sprint speed in 2017. He has also shown elite power, ranking 35th in average batted ball

exit velocity In baseball statistics, exit velocity (EV) is the estimated speed at which a batted ball is travelling as it is coming off the player's bat. Batters generally aim for a higher exit velocity in order to give opposing fielders less time to react ...

in 2017, and 20% of his batted balls exiting at or above .

Personal life

Cordero is a second cousin to Socrates Brito, who has played in MLB and the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Franchy 1994 births Living people People from Azua Province Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic San Diego Padres players Kansas City Royals players Boston Red Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Padres players Arizona League Padres players El Paso Chihuahuas players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Escogido players Peoria Javelinas players San Antonio Missions players Worcester Red Sox players