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Swing, miss on Reynolds

Mark Reynolds came in with a bang for the Indians, hitting 13 HRs in April and May, but fizzled with two HRs since then. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

The Indians swung and missed with Mark Reynolds.

Unable to wait any longer for him to find his swing, the team designated the slumping slugger for assignment on Thursday, ending his first season in Cleveland, one which began with power and production but fizzled out quickly with Reynolds on the bench.

“It was becoming harder for Mark to be able to handle not playing,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “So it was time to do what we did.”

Lacking a power-hitting right-handed bat for their lineup, the Indians signed Reynolds to a one-year, $6 million contract in December. Reynolds, who hit 60 homers in the previous two seasons in Baltimore, started well and hit 13 homers in April and May. His teammates even nicknamed him “Mega Mark” for a few of his monstrous, tape-measure shots.

Then he began to miss.

Reynolds batted .301 (25 for 83) in April, but just .187 (47 for 252) since. He batted .098 (5 for 51) with one RBI in July.

He’s batting just .215 with 15 homers and 48 RBIs, and the free-swinger has struck out 123 times. He’s only hit two home runs since May and none since June 28.

While Reynolds slumped, Francona had no choice but to reduce his role, giving most of the playing time and at-bats to Ryan Raburn, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club on Wednesday, and Mike Aviles.

The Indians had held out hope Reynolds would get hot again, and maybe carry their offense the way he did with the Orioles last season, when he helped Baltimore win one of the A.L.’s two wild-card spots.

The Indians have 10 days to trade, release or place Reynolds on waivers. To take Reynolds’ roster spot, the club recalled reliever Preston Guilmet (gil-met) from Triple-A Columbus.

Utley deal announced

The Philadelphia Phillies have announced a new deal with second baseman Chase Utley through the 2015 season.

Utley was in the final season of a seven-year, $85 million contract.

The new deal is believed to be worth around $27 million for two years with several options.

The 34-year-old Utley is playing in his 11th season in the majors, all with the Phillies. He has been slowed by knee trouble in the past, but that hasn’t been a problem this year. The five-time All-Star began the day batting .277 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs.