Completely forgotten member of the 2022 Cubs signs one-year deal in Japan

Over the years, Jed Hoyer has found a good deal of success signing reclamation projects and bounceback candidates to round out the pitching staff. We saw that this year with the likes of Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, Chris Flexen and Drew Pomeranz. The same success, however, hasn't been there when it comes to position players picked up off the scrap pile.

That was certainly the case with former Cleveland slugger Franmil Reyes when the Cubs picked him up off waivers in Aug. 2022. Once a 30-homer bat, Reyes' struggles at the big-league level continued in Chicago, slashing just .234/.301/.389 in 189 trips to the plate - good for -0.1 bWAR.

Franmil Reyes has found a long-term home playing in Japan

Chicago let him walk at season's end and he never got back on track and, after stints in the Royals and Nationals organizations, he headed overseas, joining the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2023. After finding great success on a pair of one-year deals, Reyes and the club have agreed to a third one-year pact this week.

The Fighters tried to get Reyes locked in on a multi-year deal last offseason, but failed to do so. But after another big season, the two sides came together on a new contract. Since taking his talents overseas, he's been a lethal power presence, slashing .282/.347/.535 with 57 long balls over nearly 900 plate appearances.

That body of work has been impressive, but apparently not impressive enough for an MLB team to offer up any sort of guaranteed deal. Since hitting 30 homers with Cleveland in 2021, Reyes mustered just a .217/.268/.356 line in at-bats with Cleveland, Chicago and Kansas City. He's settled in nicely overseas and, now has a multi-year deal to show for his efforts.

That 2022 Cubs team was a true island of misfit toys. Joining Reyes in the ranks of 'players you forgot suited up for the club that season' were Alonso Rivas III, Rafael Ortega, PJ Higgins, Andrelton Simmons, Michael Hermosillo, Esteban Quiroz, Clint Frazier and Ildemaro Vargas, among others. So if you're still wallowing in self-pity over the team's loss in the NLDS earlier this month, just remember: things looked way darker in the not-too-distant past.