Cleveland Indians: Remaining patient with Franmil Reyes

Franmil Reyes has struggled in his short tenure as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Fans need to remain patient with the young talent.

Franmil Reyes has not had an electrifying start in his first eight games with the Cleveland Indians. The key part of that sentence is the number of games.

Reyes has two hits since joining the team. He has struck out ten times but did pick up his first walk in Thursday night’s win over the Minnesota Twins.

The slow start has led to fans freaking out on social media and our own announcers wondering if Reyes is nervous and pressing at the plate.

It is easy to come up with potential reasons for why he is off to a painfully slow start. Being traded across the country just over a week ago is a likely explanation. Him being a bad player is the unlikely one that is floating around Twitter and awkward family gatherings when everyone just wants to enjoy the food and watch some baseball.

Reyes had 82 hits in 99 games with the San Diego Padres before being traded in what will be his first full season in the majors. He played in only 87 games for the Padres in 2018.

He also had 27 home runs before being traded with a .849 OPS. He wasn’t a superstar but his numbers indicate he isn’t some player the Indians are foolish to start.

A slow start after a trade should not be considered a total shock. Especially for a young player who was only with one organization in his playing career.

Day-to-day sports coverage is driven by an inherent recency bias. One huge game from Reyes would start talk of him “flipping the switch” and his struggles could be forgotten just like that. So let me throw that out there. A bold prediction, if you will.

Reyes is going to break out of his slump over the weekend and return to Cleveland without any doubt about his abilities. Not that most fans are doubting him. Or at least I hope not.

Reyes is now a long-term piece with the Indians and his first eight games in town will not define him. The doom comes into play if he is still hitting below or around .100 near the end of September. Then this article becomes obsolete and I go into virtual hiding.