Indians confident in Reynolds despite slump

CLEVELAND -- The Indians are aware that Mark Reynolds is capable of sending baseballs over the fence and runners across home plate. They just haven't seen a whole lot of that ability lately.

Reynolds did not start on Friday, when Cleveland hosted the Rangers for the first of a three-game series. In his last 16 contests, Reynolds is batting .098/.207/.098 with one RBI and no extra-base hits. He's been in the starting lineup in just four of Cleveland's last nine games.

"He's obviously been in the midst of a tough stretch for him, but we continue to be confident in the person and that Mark's working to try to get out of it," general manager Chris Antonetti said.

The Indians knew Reynolds' primary temperatures were piping hot and freezing cold when they signed him during the offseason. Through his first 28 games of 2013, Reynolds posted a .300/.376/.650 line with five doubles, 10 homers and 27 RBIs.

In that stretch, Reynolds had 13 walks and 27 strikeouts. In the 66 games that followed, Reynolds racked up 90 strikeouts while taking 28 walks.

"As we've seen first-hand, going back to April, Mark can go through stretches where he can carry a team," Antonetti said. "Hopefully, that hot streak is right around the corner."