Former Guardian Jhonkensy Noel heads to predictable landing spot after holiday freeze

For two years, Craig Albernaz sat near the top of the Cleveland Guardians’ dugout and got a first-hand look at Jhonkensy Noel’s power. 

Now he’s going to get a chance to watch it from the top step of his new dugout, as Albernaz’s Orioles claimed Noel off waivers on Monday. The claim was a long time coming for Noel, who was designated for assignment in the middle of December to make room on the roster for Justin Bruihl. 

He, like every player DFA’d in that time period, had to wait in limbo due to MLB's waiver claim freeze around the holidays.

While Noel has some clear red flags in his profile in the form of his inflated strikeout rate, Noel has game-changing power, which would lead to him making an impact for an Orioles team looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing in 2025. 

Former Guardian Jhonkensy Noel reunites with Craig Albernaz in Baltimore 

Noel’s signing is another part of Baltimore’s retooling after a disappointing 2025 season where they finished with a record of 75-87. The first part of that retooling came with the hiring of Albernaz to be their new manager after two years serving as Stephen Vogt’s associate manager.

Orioles ownership gave him plenty of new toys by signing Pete Alonso in free agency and trading for outfielder Taylor Ward and right-handed starter Shane Baz. 

While claiming Noel on waivers doesn’t reach the same level as those other transactions, it could end up becoming a win thanks to his power potential, which should be familiar to Orioles fans considering Noel slugged a home run against them in his first career MLB at-bat. 

Noel ended up hitting .218 with 13 home runs in 69 games in the 2024 season and etched his name into Guardians lore forever with his game-tying home run against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. 

He failed to build on that in 2025, however, as he hit just .162 in 69 games and ended up spending most of the year at Triple-A. The Guardians included on their roster for the postseason, but he struggled at the plate in the field, which ended up being the last straw when it came to his Guardians tenure. 

The good news for Noel is that there should be less pressure on him to produce in Baltimore considering he’s going to be surrounded by power in Baltimore’s lineup compared to being in Cleveland where he was sometimes the only pure power option in the lineup. 

That said, he’s out of MLB options, so the Orioles will need to keep him on their 40-man roster for the rest of the offseason and will need to expose him to waivers if they want to remove him off the roster. 

The Guardians also announced the previously reported move that they’d signed Pedro Avila to a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to spring training.