During the Orioles’ spring training, Franchy Cordero showed the Orioles how hard he could hit the ball. He spent the last MLB weekend telling them what he could do. The only difference was that he was playing for the Yankees and hitting his old teammates from Baltimore.
Franchy Cordero hit .413/.426/.674 in exhibition games for Baltimore. He also hit one triple, two home runs, and drove in nine runs. But the corner outfielder, who can also play first base, didn’t make the team. On March 27, the Orioles let him go after he chose to opt out of his contract.
Three days later, the Yankees signed Franchy Cordero and put him on their Opening Day team.
Franchy Cordero didn’t wait long to get back at the team that didn’t pick him. On Friday, Cordero hit his first home run of the season at Camden Yards. On Sunday, in the fifth inning, he hit a Wells pitch over the scoreboard in right field for a two-run bomb.
Nestor Cortes, who overpowered the Orioles with his pitches on Sunday, correctly captured the feel.
“I’m sure they [the Orioles] look at the two homers this series and think, ‘Agh,’ you know?’” Cortes said. “I’m glad he’s on this side now and doing it for us.”
Nestor Cortes doesn’t feel any different from Franchy Cordero when he pitches at Camden Yards against the team that picked him in the Rule 5 Draft but then gave him back to the Yankees in April 2018. He was excited about his next few chances to pitch against the Orioles. The left-handed pitcher has shown the Orioles many times since then how talented he is.
So Cortes knows how Franchy Cordero must feel after hitting two home runs against the team that let him go at the end of spring training, even though Cordero downplayed his feelings after the Yankees beat the Orioles 5-3 on Sunday to win the series.
Losing Franchy Cordero haunts the Orioles
Franchy Cordero was not on Baltimore’s roster, but he was invited to spring training in Sarasota, Florida. He competed for a backup first base position that never happened. Cordero didn’t make the opening-day roster, even though he had a great spring. He hit two home runs and hit .413 in 18 games, but that wasn’t enough for the Orioles, who must be ruing that decision now.
And one week into the 2023 season, Franchy Cordero ran into his old team at Camden Yards. He was wearing the Yankees’ road gray. He quickly won over the Yankees fans, which could have made Baltimore’s front office regret letting Franchy Cordero go late in the season, especially to a team in the American League East.
Franchy Cordero got two starts in this weekend’s series against his old team, and in each of them, he hit a home run. Cordero hit a three-run home run, his first in pinstripes, in the team’s first game at home on Friday. On Sunday, he had another two-run shot beyond the walls of Baltimore.
“I’m sure it’s a little weird, you know?” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told. “You spend six, seven weeks with a team and get all the way to the end, and then all of a sudden you’re playing against them. So I’m sure that’s a little bit of a weird feeling. But I’m sure, any time — whether you understand the situation or not — any time you can have success against an old team, I’m sure that’s always satisfying.”
Cordero downplays the revenge talk
The day Franchy Cordero hit his second home run was also the day that witnessed the Orioles sending Kyle Stowers to Triple-A Norfolk. Stowers had only four at-bats to start the season, and manager Brandon Hyde said that the prospect was more interested in regular playing time.
Franchy Cordero, on the other hand, was competing with Stowers for one of the last spots on the team. Cordero can play in the corner outfield and at first base, which gives him more defensive options to go with his left-handed bat, even though Stowers is a better outfielder.
It’s not a direct comparison, since Stowers was already on the 40-man roster and Franchy Cordero wasn’t. But since it seemed like Baltimore couldn’t give Stowers regular playing time, a good bench bat like Cordero is appealing.
Franchy Cordero remembers the release, but he downplayed the idea that the weekend was about revenge.
“I felt like I had really good chances of making the team in Baltimore,” Cordero told. “I can tell you I’m very happy I’m with the Yankees right now.”
Franchy Cordero also told that when he found out he wouldn’t be on the opening-day roster in Baltimore, he decided to use the opt-out clause in his contract. Even though Boone said that the Yankees hadn’t been interested in the player for long, the team started paying close attention to him when they found out that he might have an out in his deal.
Cordero has the talent
Franchy Cordero went 3-for-5 with two home runs and two walks in the series against Orioles.
He is not a regular player for the Yankees. But whenever Franchy Cordero has been in the lineup, the left-handed hitter has made an impact. In four games, he’s hit .357 with an OPS of 1.257. He is tied with Aaron Judge for the most RBIs, with seven.
“It was a product of a young player with a lot of talent with a lot of upsides still,” Boone said, “and us kind of having a need and wanting to keep some depth going, especially early in the season. He certainly not only has fit that mold but he’s come in and produced right away.”
Franchy Cordero has only played four games, so it’s too soon to call him the new Matt Carpenter. Carpenter was a lefty-hitting corner outfielder who surprised everyone last season when he resurrected his career with the Yankees and hit 15 home runs in 47 games.
At 28, Franchy Cordero has only had 14 at-bats so far this season, but he has already driven in seven runs. Cordero has homered in four of his last five games against the Orioles, dating back to last year when he was with the Boston Red Sox.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
