CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Franmil Reyes started the season in a funk, then he got hurt.
But since returning from a hamstring injury in late May that landed him on the injured list and caused him to miss nearly a month, Reyes is returning to form and Guardians manager Terry Francona has noticed.
“I think he’s looked a lot more like Franmil,” Francona said prior to Wednesday’s game with the White Sox. “I’m not sure that he’s ever gonna … we didn’t get him here to hit .300. It would be nice, but we’re looking for power and [to] drive the ball and he’s done more of that since he’s been back.”
Prior to the injury, Reyes was hitting just .195 with two doubles, three homers and 12 RBI but he has raised his average 25 points since returning on June 22 by hitting .260 with six doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI over his last 21 games.
Defensively, Francona also has no complaints with what he is getting from Reyes in the outfield.
“He’s been fine,” Francona said. “We told him when he went on the IL, we want him to be able to go out there, so we can do a doubleheader where we can have Josey [Jose Ramirez] be the DH, things like that. It gives us some flexibility.”
Tuesday afternoon Reyes fouled a ball off that bounced up and hit and cut him behind his left ear but did not have to leave the game. He was back in the lineup Wednesday night hitting fifth as the DH.
Injury updates – Francona relayed positive news concerning outfielder Oscar Gonzalez and reliever Anthony Gose.
“Oscar is doing really well,” Francona said. “He’s been swinging the bat. He’s graduated to dry swings off the tee, going to the cage.
He’s building up.”
During the All-Star break the Guardians plan to send Gonzalez, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with an abdominal strain on July 2, to Arizona to continue to work out before he begins a rehab assignment at Double-A Akron or Triple-A Columbus.
Gose, who sat in front of his locker Wednesday afternoon with his left arm wrapped for 15 minutes, had an injection to reduce the swelling but his arm is structurally fine. He was placed on the 15-day IL with a triceps strain on July 3.
“You start getting nervous when you look inside a pitcher’s elbow and shoulder, just with wear and tear,” Francona said. “That’s why they try to treat the symptoms, not the diagnosis.”
Dodging raindrops – The Guardians finally caught a break with mother nature.
A line of rain rolled through Wednesday afternoon and put the start time in jeopardy, but it stopped in time for the grounds crew to pull the tape and get the field ready in time for first pitch under partly sunny skies.
Roster moves – Left-handed starter Konnor Pilkington was officially optioned back to Triple-A Columbus after serving as the 27th man and starting Game 2 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the White Sox. He will return July 23 to pitch in another doubleheader against Detroit.
The team also sent right-hander Cody Harris on a 30-day rehab assignment to Arizona as he continues to recover from a right shoulder strain.