One former SF Giants utility man replaces another in NL East booth

Since his retirement as a player, Kevin Frandsen has found success in the baseball broadcast booth. Now, the former SF Giants utility player is moving from one National League East ballclub's broadcast team to another - and he'll be replacing another former Giant.

Frandsen, who had provided radio color commentary for Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts for the past four seasons, is heading about two hours southwest of Citizens Bank Park for his new job - television color analyst for the Washington Nationals.

He's filling the role left open when the team and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) chose not to bring back F.P. Santangelo. An 11-year veteran of Nationals broadcasts, Santangelo was off the air from late-April to mid-July in 2021 following accusations of sexual misconduct. He publicly denied any wrongdoing and subsequently returned to the booth when a Major League Baseball investigation couldn't confirm the allegations.

Frandsen and Santangelo have followed very similar paths

Santangelo, who grew up in the Sacramento area and attended Sacramento City College, spent seven years in the Majors. After four seasons with the Montreal Expos, he spent 1999 with the Giants and had a solid campaign, batting .260 with 17 doubles and 12 stolen bases. After that he spent a year with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, hitting .197 each season.

Santangelo started hosting a radio show in Sacramento a few years after retiring in 2001, and in 2010 he hosted a show on KNBR and filled in on Giants radio and television broadcasts.

Frandsen, a San Jose native, was drafted by the Giants out of San Jose State in the 12th round in 2004. He made his MLB debut for the team in 2006 and played at least one game in orange and black every year through 2009. Frandsen was used in a variety of roles: he spent time at every position on the field except for pitcher, catcher and center field. He played for the Angels in 2010 and the Phillies in 2012-13, then spent 2014 with the Nationals. He returned to the Giants for 2015 and had a seven-game stint in the big leagues in September to conclude his playing career.

Shortly after retiring Frandsen also went into radio, hosting shows on both KNBR 1050 and 680 before heading to Philadelphia.