Just over a month ago, former Cleveland Guardians slugger Franmil Reyes expressed interest in returning to Cleveland.
But the next chapter of his professional baseball career will not be with the Guardians.
Last night, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they have agreed to a contract with the 28-year-old.
According to Edwin Dominguez-Alvarez, the CEO and Founder of the Defying The Odds Sports Company, Reyes’ contract is for one year.
In terms of his MLB career, Reyes most recently played 19 games with the Kansas City Royals last year, hitting .186 with 11 hits, two home runs, and seven RBI.
He began his Major League career with the San Diego Padres, hitting .266 with 155 hits, 18 doubles, 43 home runs, 77 RBI, and an .844 OPS in 186 games. Reyes was then acquired by Cleveland in the Trevor Bauer trade during the 2019 season.
He had a promising 2021 campaign with Cleveland, hitting .254 with 106 hits, 18 doubles, 30 home runs, and career-highs in RBI (85), slugging percentage (.522), and OPS (.846). However, Reyes was unable to replicate this success the following year.
After hitting .213 with 56 hits, nine doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBI, and a .604 OPS in his first 70 games with the Guardians, the team designated him for assignment in early August of 2022.
Reyes was then claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs, for whom he hit .234 with 41 hits, eight doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI, and a .690 OPS in his final 48 games of the season.
He was eventually designated for assignment by Kansas City this past May, which led to him signing with the Washington Nationals. However, Reyes played 34 Triple-A games for Washington’s organization before being released this past August.
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