CLEVELAND, OH – When the Indians added Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig at the trade deadline in the Trevor Bauer deal; they did it with the intention of Reyes being a big part of the future.
The 24-year-old had the power they were looking for and was under team control through the 2024 season. Reyes essentially served as the Indians’ designated hitter in the final two months of the season. The organization is hoping he can develop into more than just a DH.
“He wants to get lighter. We want him to maintain his strength and his durability and his flexibility,” manager Terry Francona said. “We’re just going to make sure that we help facilitate him being able to work because he’s not afraid to – we just need to help him.”
Reyes spent 86 games in right field during the 2019 season. The Indians hope a full offseason committed to improving his defense and getting in better shape will make him a candidate for left or right field in 2020.
“If you’re consistent and you make the average play and you don’t hurt your ball club out there – sometimes that’s good enough because guys who hit 40 home runs don’t grow on trees,” Francona said.
Puig’s Return?
The odds are against Puig returning to Cleveland in 2020. He could be offered huge money on the free agent market. The Indians aren’t going to overpay for the 29-year-old outfielder, but they aren’t ruling out a potential deal either.
“We wouldn’t close the doors on anything and Yasiel did a really good job in his time with us," president Chris Antonetti said. “We’d be open to a variety of things, but where that leads – I have no idea.”
Puig’s market will dictate the level of interest the Indians have in him. Odds are there will be an organization willing to pay the 29-year-old $15-20 million per season for 4-5 years. It’s not realistic for the Indians to get into a bidding war for Puig’s services.
There is a scenario in which Puig doesn’t get as much interest as he hoped in free agency and is willing to return to Cleveland on a short-term comtract. A 1-2 year deal in the $30 million range ($15 million per season) would fit for the Tribe.
Whether or not that’s enough for Puig to stay around depends on the rest of the league.
