As he returned from Philadelphia this past week his right arm back in a sling, Alex Reyes watched his girlfriend lift the luggage he could not and thought immediately of the things she and their family have already had to carry this past year.
While he spent 15 months recovering from elbow surgery, their young daughter continued her fight against cancer — something Reyes had previously asked to keep private. He disclosed her battle to reporters Tuesday because weeks before her second birthday she serves as his magnetic north, guiding him through a second major operation and a second consecutive lost season.