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Franmil Reyes claimed off waivers by Chicago Cubs, ending his tenure with Cleveland Guardians

Reyes showed tremendous bursts of power in parts of four seasons with the team, but his production has declined rapidly in 2022.

CLEVELAND — The Franmil Reyes era in Cleveland has officially come to a quick and somewhat shocking end.

Less than a year after he clubbed 30 home runs, the Guardians' former slugging designated hitter and outfielder was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on Monday. The 27-year-old had been designated for assignment this past weekend in the midst of the worst season of his big-league career.

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Reyes came to the then-Indians in 2019 as part of a massive three-team trade that sent former All-Star pitcher Trevor Bauer to the Cincinnati Reds, and had showed off his power-hitting talents by smashing 43 home runs for the San Diego Padres over parts of two seasons. He would hit 10 more homers over the final two months as the Tribe fell just short of the playoffs, followed by nine in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and 30 more in 2021, despite playing in only 115 games in the latter campaign.

Credit: Phil Long/AP
Cleveland Indians' Franmil Reyes celebrates with Cleveland Indians' Jordan Luplow (8) after hitting a three-run home run off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Geoff Hartlieb during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Cleveland, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. The Indians won the game 8-6.

But as the calendar turned to 2022, Reyes' production declined rapidly. In 70 games for the Guards this year, he hit just .213 with nine home runs and a stunningly meek .603 OPS. His already shaky defense also continued to be a liability, contributing to a -0.8 bWAR.

With minor-league options remaining, Reyes was sent down to Triple-A Columbus last week, but Cleveland later decided to DFA him and open up a 40-man roster spot. According to The Athletic's Zack Meisel, the club wasn't even planning to tender Reyes an arbitration contract this offseason, having apparently become frustrated with his lack of worth ethic and poor physical condition.

"Since the club demoted [Reyes] to Triple A earlier this week, coaches have raved about having the designated-hitter spot unclogged," Meisel reported, "freeing up opportunities for [Nolan] Jones, [Óscar] González and [Will] Benson and sparing [Josh] Naylor, José Ramírez and Amed Rosario from playing defense every day."

Reyes finishes his Cleveland career with a .245 batting average and 58 home runs across parts of four seasons, an average of 32 dingers over a 162-game stretch. He is expected to promoted back from the minors to play for the Cubs, who are currently last place in the National League Central Division at 43-64.

With Reyes gone, all five of the players Cleveland acquired in the Bauer deal are no longer in the organization, with four of them (including former top 100 prospect Logan Allen) having been either released or traded within the past nine months. Bauer was the NL Cy Young winner for the Reds in 2020 before signing a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but is now serving a two-year suspension from baseball following allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.

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