AROUND THE HORN

„▮ Guardians: Franmil Reyes, who began the season as the cleanup hitter for the Guardians, was designated for assignment Saturday. The 27-year-old outfielder/ designated hitter had been optioned to Triple-A Columbus earlier in the week after batting .213 with nine home runs and 104 strikeouts in 263 at-bats. Reyes belted 37 homers in 2019 — splitting the season between Cleveland and the Padres — and had 30 homers and a career-high 85 RBIs in 2021. He is earning $4.55 million on a one-year contract and was arbitration eligible. “Franmil wasn’t getting to the fastballs, and the breaking balls he hit were going for singles,” manager Terry Francona said. “There weren’t many home runs. It was tough. It was difficult.We want to see our young guys play, and this gives the opportunity for somebody to claim him.” The Guardians have seven days to trade, release or send Reyes outright to the minors if he clears waivers. Reyes has the service time to reject an outright assignment by the Guardians.

„▮ Mariners: Ty France hit a two-run homer in the third inning, George Kirby pitched six solid innings and the Mariners beat the Angels 2-1 Saturday to open a doubleheader. France’s homer came with two outs against starter Jaime Barria (1-2) and erased a one-run lead that came from Mickey Moniak’s second-inning RBI single. The go-ahead blast came one day after France hit a tying single in the ninth during a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Angels. France has 14 homers on the season. Barria, making his first start of the season, went 4 ⅔ innings while allowing three hits, two earned runs and four walks with three strikeouts. He was pulled in favor of right-hander Mike Mayers after loading the bases with back to back walks in the fifth. Mayers retired Eugenio Suarez on a pop-out to end the threat. Kirby (3-3) pitched well after a bumpy second inning, allowing six hits, one earned run and no walks with eight strikeouts. Erik Swanson pitched the ninth for his third save..

„▮ Mets: Francisco Lindor doubled off the padding atop the outfield wall in center field to drive in two, Edwin Díaz put out a fire for the final two outs and the Mets beat the Braves 8-5 Saturday in a doubleheader opener. Lindor had three hits, including an RBI single during a two-run first inning against Jake Odorizzi (4-4). His double stretched the Mets’ edge to 5-0. Pete Alonso upped his NL-best RBI total to 92 with a single, moving 10 ahead of Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The NL East leaders improved to an MLB-best 30-9 following a loss and moved 4 ½ games ahead of the Braves.

„▮ Cubs: The Cubs reinstated 11-year veteran shortstop Andrelton Simmons from the injured list on Saturday, then designated the four-time Gold Glove winner for assignment before their game with the Marlins. Simmons signed a $4 million deal with the Cubs in March and appeared to be slotted for a regular role with the team. But the 32-year-old from Curacao appeared in just 34 games with the Cubs because of two right shoulder injuries. Simmons hit .173 with seven RBIs for the Cubs. He hadn’t appeared in a game with the Cubs since July 10 against the Dodgers but had just completed a rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa. “There’s no room for him, to be honest,” manager David Ross said. “Look, he’s nothing but a pro, but this year hasn’t gone the way any of us expected.