Ben Francisco traded to Rays, his fourth team in past nine months

Francisco has a new home, again. (Getty Images)

Outfielder Ben Francisco is changing teams again. Friday night, Francisco was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays from the Houston Astros for a player to be named later, the two clubs announced.

In the Rays' press release, it was noted that a corresponding roster move will be made following Friday night's game, meaning Francisco will be on the roster prior to September 1. More to the point, that means he's eligible for the Rays' postseason roster.

Francisco, 30, is hitting .244/.292/.370 with two homers and nine doubles in 144 plate appearances this season.

He is merely a depth acquisition, but this move is still newsworthy. That is because Francisco has now been traded three times in the last nine months and twice in the last six weeks.

So that means once he's on the Rays' roster, Francisco will have been a member of four different franchises within the past nine months. That's pretty good work.

On December 12, 2011, Francisco was traded from the Phillies to the Blue Jays. Then, on July 20 of this year, Francisco was dealt to the Astros as part of a 10-player trade.

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