Francis Beltran

Francis Lebrón Beltrán (born November 29, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.\n', ' The Chicago Cubs signed Beltran as an undrafted free agent in 1996 and assigned him to the Arizona League Cubs, their rookie-level minor league affiliate. Beltran spent three seasons (1997–1999) with the Arizona team, with a combined record of 1–3, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.99 in 35 appearances. Midway through the 1999 season, the Cubs promoted him to the Single-A Eugene Emeralds. There his ERA ballooned to 8.36, and the Cubs kept him in Eugene for the 2000 season. Beltran\'s ERA improved to 2.68, and the Cubs promoted him to the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, where he went 1–1 with a 9.86 ERA. In 2001, the Cubs moved Beltran up to the Single-A Daytona Cubs, where he went 6–9 with an ERA of 5.00. In November of that year, the Cubs signaled their confidence in Beltran by adding him to their 40-man roster.\n', ' In 2002, the Cubs promoted Beltran to the Double-A West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx. Beltran got off to a good start; by the end of June he was 1–2 with 12 saves and an ERA of 3.42. On June 27, the Cubs called up Beltran to replace Jason Bere, who had gone on the disabled list with a contusion to his right knee. Beltran made his major league debut on June 28, 2002, in an interleague game against the crosstown rival Chicago White Sox. Beltran walked two over a third of an inning but, did not surrender a run. In a second appearance on July 1, Beltran gave up one run in ​2⁄3 of an inning while striking out one. The next day, the Cubs sent him back to West Tennessee to make room for reliever Tom Gordon. In August, the Cubs recalled Beltran as reliever Juan Cruz went on the disabled list. Beltran appeared in an additional nine games for the Cubs, with an overall ERA of 7.50.\n', '