Franco back with Mets as guest instructor

[February 23, 2009]  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- Former relief pitcher John Franco is back in a New York Mets uniform.

The Brooklyn native will help as a guest instructor during spring training, working with the 36 pitchers in camp, and says he's "got the itch again to come back in little baby steps."

Franco, who spent the 1990-2004 seasons in New York, has been out of baseball since retiring in 2005 after a short stint with Houston.

"We talk a lot of about guys that have put the time in being able to be a part of 'the Mets family,' and I think this goes in line with all that," general manager Omar Minaya says.

[Associated Press]

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