Former Cleveland Guardians slugger Franmil Reyes will continue his professional baseball career, but not in the United States. Reyes is about to join with the Hokkaido Nipon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, making him the latest former Major League Baseball player to extend his career in Japanese professional baseball.
MLB Insider. On December 28, Hector Gomez stated that there was a market for Reyes, including a reunion with Cleveland. He had also been linked to the Marlins, Twins, Orioles, and at least three Japanese teams. Reyes took Cleveland by storm after being acquired as part of the big trade that sent starting pitcher Mike Clevenger to the San Diego Padres. Without a designated hitter in the National League at the time, Reyes, who also played first base and outfield, was viewed as a more likely candidate for success in the American League.
In 2019, he hit 37 home runs for the Padres and Cleveland and had a 30-homer season in 2021, driving in 80 runs. However, his performance dropped down a cliff in 2022, as he was designated for assignment midway through the season after hitting.213/.254/.350. Following that, he was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs before signing a minor-league contract with the Kansas City Royals in 2023. Despite playing 19 games for the major-league club that season, he was released and signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals, where he played 38 games with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings before being released.
In 38 games between two Triple-A organizations in his final MLB season, Reyes hit.217/.317/.392 with six home runs and five doubles. Reyes, who is still only 28 years old, will split time with Cuban slugger Ariel Martinez, who has been playing professionally in Japan since 2018.