Francisley Bueno

Francisley Trueba Bueno (born March 5, 1981) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican Baseball League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals and in Korea Professional Baseball for the Hanwha Eagles. He is a childhood friend of Yunel Escobar and Brayan Peña, who was also a 2012 player on the Kansas City Royals.

Bueno, a Cuban defector, was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Braves and assigned to Double-A Mississippi for 2006. In 17 games for Mississippi, he had a 3.60 earned run average (ERA) and 84 strikeouts. He started 2007 with Mississippi again, but received a late-season promotion to Triple-A Richmond.

After beginning 2008 with Triple-A Richmond, Bueno was called up to the majors on August 3 and made his debut on August 13, during which he nearly hit Alfonso Soriano in the chin, only innings after Soriano show-boated after hitting a long fly ball off Bueno, jumping and celebrating out of the box, only to be left with a single as the ball bounced off the left field wall. Bueno was ejected, along with bench coach Chino Cadahia. A day later, Bueno was given a fine and three-day suspension by Major League Baseball. Bueno will appeal the fine and suspension, and will only have to serve his final sentence once he returns to the Major Leagues. The situation escalated in the final game of the Braves-Cubs series, when Ted Lilly hit Escobar, prompting a shouting match between the two, and the benches and bullpens to clear, but no fight took place, nor ejections made.

On August 5, 2010, Bueno was signed to a deal lasting until the end of the season with Hanwha Eagles of South Korea.

In 2011, Bueno joined the Mexican team Sultanes de Monterrey. He signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals in 2012 and was assigned to the Omaha Storm Chasers before called up on June 23. He was sent back to the Omaha Storm Chasers on June 27.

On January 17, 2015, Bueno signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs.^[1] He was released on April 4.^[2]

On June 11, 2016, Bueno signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican Baseball League.

Bueno throws five pitches — a four-seam and two-seam fastball in the low 90s, a changeup in the mid 80s, a slider in the low 80s, and a curveball in the upper 70s.^[3]

See also

• List of baseball players who defected from Cuba

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Cuban Baseball Career statistics