The Nippon-Ham Fighters announced earlier today that they have come to an agreement with Dominican outfielder and first baseman Franmil Reyes through the 2025 season. Reyes was a big factor for a Fighters team that reached the NPB postseason before losing to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Reyes played six seasons in the MLB from 2018 to 2023 before signing with the Fighters before the 2024 season. Reyes is only 29 years old.
Reyes was a welcome addition for the Fighters offense this season, hitting 25 home runs in 103 games. His power has always been a massive part of his game, and he led the fighters in slugging percentage during the regular season at .564. Reyes last played in the MLB with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 and batted to a .186 average, .288 slug, and .519 OPS. Reyes completely changed that part of his game in Japan, as the outfielder usually known for his low batting average had a slash line of .290/.348/.564 to generate a .912 OPS.
After a season like that in which Reyes was one of the premier home run hitters in the NPB, he has decided to stay in Hokkaido until at least the 2025 season. Financial terms have not yet been disclosed, but Reyes elected to keep playing in the NPB rather than pursue an MLB opportunity after a big year in which he corrected some of the flaws in his game. He will be a huge bat in the middle of the Fighters lineup next year on a journey to bring the Japan Series title back to Kitahiroshima for the first time since 2016.
Reyes grew up in Sabana Grande de Palenque, Dominican Republic, and was signed at 16 as an international free agent by the San Diego Padres in 2011. He made his major league debut for the Padres in 2018 and immediately made an impact. He recorded an OPS over .800 in 2018 and the first half of 2019 before he was traded to the Cleveland Guardians at the 2019 trade deadline. He was incredible for a Guardians team that missed the playoffs in 2021 but struggled mightily in 2022 with the Guardians and the Chicago Cubs. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals in Feb. 2023 and made the Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment in May. He signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals but was never called up to the big leagues, eventually being released in August of 2023.
Reyes’s time in Japan has been a much-needed reset button for what is still a young career. He will be in Japan for at least one more year to showcase what he can do as a baseball player for the future, while Nippon-Ham Fighter and baseball fans alike will be treated to another year of Franmil Reyes donning the Fighter blue and hitting bombs.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: Franmil Reyes #99 of the Kansas City Royals looks on from the on-deck circle against the San Francisco Giants. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
