Looking back at Franmil Reyes’ time with the Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians have officially said goodbye to Franmil Reyes

The Cleveland Guardians and Franmil Reyes have had a long and drawn-out breakup. It never got messy but it was a long-time coming. As early as May, it was obvious Reyes was a hindrance to the team in the middle of the batting order, and while he had some power, he had nothing else.

He couldn’t get on base, he had zero ability to lay off bad pitches and he was increasingly causing the Guardians to blow scoring chances. His spot as a cleanup hitter was costing the Guardians not just runs but rallies. He’d often time be the deciding out and would either strike out or hit into double plays that usually ended the inning.

He was tied for third on the team with Josh Naylor for most double-plays hit into, and among the top three on the team (Amed Rosario being the team leader), he had far fewer at-bats than the other two.

No, guys like Owen Miller can’t replace his power, but they’re better at getting on base than Reyes and better at not striking out. So it made sense to get rid of Reyes, as the offense was much more productive without him during his spell on the disabled list earlier this year.

The Guardians took Reyes off their 40-man roster, which triggered the team to designate him for assignment. Had he passed waivers, he would have remained in Triple-A Columbus until his contract expired, but the Chicago Cubs decided they wanted the power hitter. So despite being 20 games under .500, the Cubs have claimed Reyes. The Cubs must carry Reyes on their 40-man roster going forward, and if I remember correctly their 25-man Major League roster as well.

The trade that brought Franmil Reyes to the Cleveland Guardians is one of the few clunkers in recent memory.

I praise the Cleveland Guardians trades fairly regularly, especially when it comes to getting prospects for pieces that are about to hit their decline. Yet, this trade for Reyes is among the ones that the Guardians didn’t get right.

Granted, considering all the other pieces, the Guards made out the best, but still, not great.

Reys, Yasiel Puig, Scott Moss, Logan Allen (not the current minor leaguer), and minor league infield Victor Nova all were sent to the Guardians in exchange for the Cinncinatti Reds getting Trevor Bauer from Cleveland, and the San Diego Padres getting Taylor Trammell from the Reds.

Nova is the only player from that trade that is still with the team he got traded to, but with his .216 batting average in Double-A with the Akron Rubber Ducks, that may not be the case for much longer.