Exactly one calendar year ago, Guardians DH Franmil Reyes smacked a single hit in Cleveland’s 1-2 loss to the Tigers.
At the time, Reyes was batting .274, which was close to his season apex, and sported a .908 OPS.
But by far the most important number to Reyes’ standing in Cleveland was 30 — the number of homers he drove in during the 2021 season.
Reyes was expected to continue that level of production this season.
He had the chance to be the one who supplied a steady stream of runs in what is otherwise a hit-for-contact offense.
He fell short of those expectations.
By a long shot.
And on Saturday, Reyes received those three letters no pro-baller ever wants to hear: DFA (designated for assignment).
Downward Spiral
This season, Reyes has nine home runs.
Granted, he’s missed some time with injury.
But at almost every turn, Reyes has failed to put anything together that resembles a string of quality at-bats.
Instead, Reyes led the team in strikeouts (104) and was dead last in on-base percentage (.254).
Again, this is a player who missed time but had 31 more strikeouts than any other starter.
His OBP was lower than even Austin Hedges, whose disastrous play was the main reason behind Cleveland’s calls to the Cubs and A’s over their catchers at the trade deadline.
Reyes leaves the Guardians batting .213, second-worst among starters behind Hedges (.179).
And perhaps the Guardians would overlook Reyes’ poor plate performance if he was providing some level of defensive help.
Alas.
Reyes was the designated hitter.
Meaning the team assigned Reyes as the person to make contact with the ball.
And we have to know that Reyes was available at the trade deadline.
So the Guardians’ decision to DFA Reyes is both due to the fact that there was no interest in him among other teams and in line with their desire to give younger players ample opportunities.
Up Next
The Guardians will be on the hook for over $4.5 million owed to Reyes if another club doesn’t claim him off waivers.
Teams have one week to claim Reyes.
If none of the other clubs claim Reyes, he will likely be sent down to the minors.
For what it’s worth, the decision to DFA Reyes was an understandably difficult one.
Terry Francona explained the rationale for DFAing Reyes, relayed by Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com:
“It’s difficult when you know a guy can get hot and carry a team. His swing and miss comes with the territory. But he wasn’t getting to the fastball and he was hitting the hanging breaking ball for a single and an occasional home run. He just wasn’t getting to pitches that he used to.”
Yet with the move, the Guardians open themselves up to a far more flexible lineup.
In theory, Josh Naylor can slide into the DH slot.
But the Guardians might also use the open position as a quasi-audition for some of the younger outfielders currently blocked by Oscar Gonzalez and Myles Straw.
This way, Nolan Jones, Will Benson, and Tyler Freeman can get a shot to show why their bat belongs on Cleveland’s 40-man rotation.
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