Franmil Reyes hasn’t played in MLB since 2023, when he spent time with the Kansas City Royals.
It’s been four years since he last suited up for the Cleveland Guardians.
But despite the time away, Reyes continues to hit long, towering home runs. He’s just doing it halfway around the world.
It’s one of the cool parts of baseball, that although it’s easy to get tunnel vision on Major League Baseball, there’s actually high-end players on diamonds all across the world.
Where Is Franmil Reyes?
Reyes is in his third year playing professional baseball in Japan.
All three seasons have been spent with the Nippon Ham Fighters, one of the stalwarts of high-level baseball in Japan.
Reyes played 103 games in his first season as he adjusted to the league and hit 25 home runs.
Last season, the big slugger left the yard 32 times.
This season, he is up to 31 home runs after homering on Saturday:
Franmil Reyes 3-run shot š„ pic.twitter.com/EsOcC1CaFV
ā Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) September 5, 2026
Reyes entered Saturday with a .966 OPS, which if he finishes there, would be his best for one of his Japanese seasons.
Pitching in Japan isn’t quite at the level of MLB, but it’s not far off. In general, there’s a little less velocity and a little more deception, so it can take some getting used to but also has allowed Reyes to continue to thrive in a major way.
Franmil Reyes Career Timeline
Reyes is 31 years old now, having spent about half his life in professional baseball.
He signed out of the Dominican Republic with the San Diego Padres when he was 16 years old and first reached the majors with the Friars.
He then went to the Guardians in a trade, and he did his best slugging for Cleveland.
From there, Reyes got time with both the Chicago Cubs and the aforementioned Kansas City Royals.
In his final couple seasons, he also spent a good chunk of time at Triple-A Columbus, Triple-A Omaha and Triple-A Rochester. His swing-and-miss inconsistencies had started to wear on the MLB teams he was playing for.
That accelerated his path out of MLB and to Japan, where he’s been a great player.
Given Reyes’ raw power, and the fact that he’s hitting so well in Japan, you’d have to think he could at least hit some homers in the major leagues stateside if he ever wanted to return. At age 31, he’s probably right on the border of whether a team would want to sign him back or not.
At the moment, though, it seems like Reyes is content across the Pacific. He’s hitting the kind of home runs that made him a fan favorite in Cleveland.
Some fans even called him the “Franimal,” and he’s certainly living up to that nickname these days playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters.
Ex-Guardians Star Franmil Reyes Sends Reminder to Baseball World