Francoeur will work about 100 TV games in '19 after making several guest appearances last yearGETTY IMAGES
Former MLBer Jeff Francoeur will replace Joe Simpson "as the lead analyst" on Braves games broadcast on FS South and FS Southeast during the '19 season, according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Simpson will "remain a part of the broadcast team for a 28th season, shifting to radio for a large number of games and also working a limited number on TV." He said, "I had proposed cutting back, but my proposal was a lot different than theirs. I was suggesting maybe cutting back to like 120 TV games, hoping to fill in the rest with some radio. But they've cut me back to 20 or 30 TV games with the rest being radio, so that came as a surprise." FS South/Southeast GM Jeff Genthner said that Francoeur "will work about 100 TV games, 'plus or minus 10 games.'" He added that Baseball HOFer Tom Glavine will return and work an "increased number of games as an analyst." Chip Caray remains the play-by-play announcer. Simpson will be part of a "four-man rotation" on radio that includes Jim Powell, Don Sutton and Ben Ingram. Braves President & CEO Derek Schiller indicated that the plan is to "have two of them in the booth per game." Both Genthner and Schiller separately said that Simpson's move "was not related to two controversial remarks he made on the air" last season regarding the Dodgers' apparel during batting practice and the age of Nationals LF Juan Soto. Genthner said that the TV change was "driven by the talent Francoeur has shown as a broadcaster during occasional opportunities the past two seasons and by Simpson's stated desire to scale back over the next couple of years" (AJC.com, 11/29).
