Guardians jettison underperforming outfielder to make room for Rhys Hoskins

Last September, the Cleveland Guardians opened the postseason with Johnathan Rodríguez batting cleanup against the Detroit Tigers. 

Six months later, it looks like Rodríguez’s time with the Guardians has come to an end. On Wednesday, the Guardians designated Rodríguez for assignment in a move that allowed them to officially add Rhys Hoskins to their 40-man roster. 

While Rodríguez had already been sent to Triple-A two weeks prior, he’s now off the Guardians’ 40-man roster and will now be subject to the waiver process.

But even if he goes unclaimed through waivers, it’s hard to imagine he’s going to make a major league impact for the Guardians in 2026. 

Guardians’ decision to add Rhys Hoskins cost Johnathan Rodríguez his roster spot 

Rodríguez has spent parts of two seasons with the Guardians and has hit .176 across 44 games. He was a valuable player in the minors for Cleveland (he won International League MVP in 2024 at Triple-A) but hasn’t been able to carry that over to the big league level. 

Most of his big league experience came last season when he played in 31 games for the Guardians, but he slashed just .197/.260/.366 with two home runs and 10 RBI. 

The highlight of that time came last September when he hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the Guardians’ postseason-clinching win against the Rangers. 

But those moments were few and far between. 

Part of the reason why the Guardians kept Rodríguez on their roster all offseason was because he was a right-handed hitting outfielder. In fact, he spent about two weeks as the Guardians’ only right-handed hitting outfielder before the Guardians signed Stuart Fairchild. 

But he ended up becoming expendable a couple months later after the Guardians signed Rhys Hoskins. While Hoskins doesn’t play the outfield, he’s able to provide the kind of right-handed insurance that Rodríguez theoretically would have provided. 

Rodríguez is now going to be exposed to the waiver process, where he’ll likely linger for the better part of the next week. 

Rodríguez does have one minor league option remaining so a team could sign him and then theoretically send him to the minors, but it remains to be seen if anyone will be willing to use a 40-man roster spot on him. 

If he goes unclaimed through waivers then the Guardians could stash him in the minors as non-roster depth. 

Rodríguez’s demotion means the Guardians are going to open the season with an outfield picture consisting of Chase DeLauter, Kwan and Angel Martínez, with CJ Kayfus and Daniel Schneemann serving as utility options.