The organization that raised Franmil Reyes from a skinny 16-year-old Dominican into a powerful force traded him for a prospect. His new team, in the heat of a playoff race, knew the numbers but nothing about the man who became a fan favorite and a clubhouse staple some 2,000 miles away in San Diego.

The weight of the world wasn’t on the shoulders of the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Reyes when everything he knew was upended last month.

It just felt like it.

“The game was going too fast,” Reyes said. “I was too anxious to do something to show my team what they got.”


It’s clear now.

Reyes homered after 11 long days into his stay in his new team.

Since then his numbers over the last 28 games as a designated hitter — seven homers and a .274/.364/.558 batting line — look even better than they did with the Padres, a boon for a Cleveland team hoping to run down a wild-card spot or, with some luck, the Minnesota Twins at the top of the AL Central.

Defensive limitations aside, Reyes upped his stock from a Rule 5 afterthought in 2018 to a coveted traded piece with 43 homers over 186 games with the Padres.


That’s certainly one way to endear yourself to a fan base.

Of course, Reyes, with an easy smile and booming chuckle, showed throughout his stay in San Diego that he was so much more than a bat for hire.

His teammates gravitated to him in the clubhouse. A sumo-like celebration accompanied his tape-measure home runs. He danced and sang in the dugout, with a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” at one point becoming the team’s pregame rallying cry.

His zest for life was so unbridled that the 24-year-old Reyes didn’t hesitate when, off the cuff, he was asked to belt out a few lines for a postgame interview played on the Petco Park videoboard for all to see.


Padres fans embraced it all so much that Reyes was compelled to work up a thank you message on Instagram after he was traded to Cleveland ahead of the July 31 deadline.

On Monday, a few dozen of his fans chose to make the drive to Anaheim to visit with Reyes before the start of the Indians’ three-game stay.

If you’re watching, I promise you’re gonna love this! @La_Mole_13 we will always love you! pic.twitter.com/VGTnXVvvfg — angela (@bullpenbabe) September 10, 2019

Reyes was stunned.


“I knew at least five people would come and say hi,” Reyes said Wednesday night in Anaheim after the Indians swept the Angels. “When I got here and saw that whole crew with the signs and saying they missed me, that was very special to me. To see the love they showed me, it was great.”

Maybe a bit bittersweet, too.

Six weeks ago, Reyes believed he was part of the equation that would soon take a championship-starved franchise — and city — to new heights. He’d garnered some national buzz as a dark-horse Home Run Derby candidate. The team that signed him and Franchy Cordero on the same day in November 2011 had won a lot more in the first half than it had in quite some time and Reyes was in the middle of it.

Then he got a phone call from super agent Scott Boras: The Padres were sending him to Cleveland.


An early morning phone call from General Manager A.J. Preller confirmed the trade. Then the texts and phone calls from player development staff who’d worked with him for the better part of a decade, coaches and teammates began to roll in as Reyes packed his bags for the unknown.

The thought of it all was overwhelming.

“I was in the organization for almost nine years,” Reyes said. “At the beginning I was sad because I knew a lot of people in the organization, a lot of the fans. There are great friendships that will never stop being my friends, like (Luis) Urias, (Manuel) Margot and Franchy. I won’t never forget those guys.”

He added: “Honestly, the first day I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know how it was going to be. I didn’t know any of these people, just a couple of Dominicans. I knew who they were, but I didn’t know them in person. … When I was in San Diego, we were brothers and I didn’t know how it was going to be until I go there.”


But some knew.

Of all the variables in play, Reyes’ magnetic personality was a constant that that wouldn’t be denied long.

Almost right away, former Padres reliever Adam Cimber said, Reyes was in the middle of clubhouse banter with fellow newcomer Yasiel Puig, Carlos Santana and Francisco Lindor.

“He just jumped right in,” said Cimber, who teamed with Reyes at a number of stops in the Padres system. “It’s funny. From Day 1, he’s been one of the loudest guys in the clubhouse. You always hear him laughing. He jumps in with other guys. Him and Puig and Santana, you hear them get going and it seems like a pretty good conversation. I wish I could understand what they were talking about.”


Added Phil Maton, another former Padres reliever who came up in the system with Reyes: “He fit in immediately. He’s going to fit in anywhere he goes. He’s such a good dude.”

Between the lines, though, Reyes found himself pressing to get the job done until the coaching staff and teammates put him at ease.

“Guys that have done it before, it’s a little easier, but when you leave your first team, it’s kind of like family,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “It really is. Even though our guys are great about welcoming people and being inclusive, you want to do well right away. And when you don’t, you start wanting to go 2-for-1 and 3-for-1 and that’s impossible. He finally hit a couple balls and got rewarded and you could just see him turn back into himself.”

Reyes hit his first home run Aug. 12, 13 days after that first sleepless night.


Then Reyes hit another the next day, four more (with 10 RBI) in a three-day span in late August and on Tuesday drove in half the Indians’ eight runs, upping his total to 28 in 39 days with his new team.

“Until my teammates and a couple coaches told me ‘Hey, don’t feel like you have to carry us, just be you, go out there and play like you were doing.’ That gave me confidence and when I got that back everything started going well,” Reyes said.

But Reyes does not have a song yet in Cleveland. He’s not sure if the stars will align as they did in San Diego when his ritual with Chris Paddack evolved into something of a calling card for Reyes, nor does he believe he necessarily should look to mimic what came together so organically in San Diego.

That was its own special thing.


Cleveland will provide its own opportunity for Reyes to leave his mark.

Perhaps a playoff race will serve as the stage.

“They say that every single day here,” Reyes said with a smile. “The playoffs, you’re going to love it. It’s going to be something special, and I can’t wait to there.”



Since the trade

DH Franmil Reyes (Indians): 149 PA, .229/.302/.450, 7 HR, 28 RBIs

149 PA, .229/.302/.450, 7 HR, 28 RBIs LHP Logan Allen (Triple-A Columbus): 22.1 IP, 31 H, 19 ER, 1.93 WHIP, 1-1, 7.66 ERA (2.1 IP, 0 ER in one game with Indians; Triple-A postseason: 11.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1.15 WHIP, 2-0, 2.38)

22.1 IP, 31 H, 19 ER, 1.93 WHIP, 1-1, 7.66 ERA (2.1 IP, 0 ER in one game with Indians; Triple-A postseason: 11.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1.15 WHIP, 2-0, 2.38) INF/OF Victor Nova (AZL): 72 PA, .246/.380/.263, 0 HR, 3 RBIs

72 PA, .246/.380/.263, 0 HR, 3 RBIs OF Taylor Trammell (Double-A Amarillo): 133 PA, .229/.316/.381, 4 HR, 10 RBIs (postseason: 31 PA, .379/.419/.759, 2 HR, 7 RBIs)

Note: All statistics through Thursday