CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Guardians have designated Franmil Reyes for assignment ahead of Saturday’s game with the Houston Astros.
Reyes,26, has been marred in a season-long slump hitting just .213 with 9 home runs and 28 RBIs. He has struck out 104 times compared to just 14 walks.
Cleveland optioned Reyes to Triple-A Columbus on August 2nd.
In his last 15 games prior to being sent down, Reyes hit just .179 with 1 HR, 2 RBIs and 14 strikeouts.
Last season, Reyes hit 30 home runs with 84 RBIs. In 2019, the year Cleveland acquired Reyes from the Padres in a three-team blockbuster trade he belted 37 home runs and 81 RBIs between the two clubs.
But the 2022 version of Reyes has looked like a shell of himself, struggling mightily against left-handed pitching and never looking comfortable at the plate. In 2021 Reyes hit .260 with a .356 on-base percentage and .520 slugging percentage against lefties. This year, at the time of his demotion he was hitting .167 with a .242 slugging percentage against southpaws.
Reyes has admitted the struggles have taken a toll on him mentally this year.
Manager Terry Francona has done almost everything to try and break his slugger out of his season-long funk, including giving him some time in the outfield to try and give Reyes more to think about and take his mind off his struggles at the plate.
None of which has worked. Aside from Reyes pop in the lineup, he also served as a bit of protection for All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez.
Reyes has played in three games since being sent down to Columbus, going just 1-for-11 with a double and an RBI.
BYE BYE BRADLEY -- The Guardians also released outfielder Bobby Bradley on Saturday afternoon.
Bradley was the Guardians' Opening Day first baseman, but has also struggled to deliver at the plate. He was designated for assignment at the beginning of May after hitting .118 (2-for-17) in eight games.
He didn't fare much better in Triple-A Columbus, where he hit .174 in 47 games.
The 26-year-old has shown plenty of power over the course of his minor league career, but that pop never translated to the Major League level. Bradley hit 33 homers and collecting 74 RBIs in Triple-A Columbus back in 2019 and never hit less than 23 home runs over a five-year span in the minors.
NO KWAN -- Steven Kwan is not in the starting lineup for Saturday night's game against the Astros.
Kwan was removed from Friday night's for precautionary reasons in the fifth inning with a left foot contusion and replaced by Will Benson in right field after he fouled a ball off his foot in the first inning.
Francona, aware of Kwan’s 18-game hit streak, left it up to his right fielder to determine if he should rest it for the remainder of the night with the game already out of reach.
“He actually hit that same spot in batting practice. So when he hit it the second time, it was marking a little bit,” Francona said. “I thought the best change to have him available, and he agreed. He’s a pretty savvy kid.”
Kwan’s hit streak had matched the longest in the Majors this season. It was the most consecutive games with a hit for Cleveland since Michael Brantley’s 19-game hit streak in 2019.