Is Jhonkensy Noel the odd man out in the Cleveland Guardians' outfield?

It is just about halfway through the month of May, and it is pretty safe to say that the production the Cleveland Guardians have received from Jhonkensy Noel is not good enough. Noel has struggled out of the gate and has failed to adequately recover up to this point. This makes it easy to wonder if Noel will be the odd man out in Cleveland's outfield before too long.

Noel has a .154/.195/.274 slash line with four of his 12 hits going for extra-bases (two doubles, two home runs), which produces an incredibly unspectacular 33 OPS+. Expecting Noel to replicate his 116 OPS+ from last season may have been a bit optimistic, but to completely crater in this manner makes him look like another Oscar Gonzalez and Bobby Bradley, two players he has been compared to quite often in his young career.

All three have similar offensive profiles and have experienced a steep decline after a year of promise, with Gonzalez and Bradley eventually being let go by Cleveland. This should serve as a warning to Noel and what his fate may be if he continues to struggle at the plate.

When asked about the Guardians' lack of contributions coming from Noel and Nolan Jones this season and whether or not the team could go in another direction, The Athletic's Zack Meisel answered in a mailbag-style article (subscription required), stating his belief that Jones will get substantially more time than Noel. Meisel noted Jones being out of minor league options, the cost to bring him back (Tyler Freeman), and the underlying metrics suggesting that he could be a more effective player than Noel at the plate.

Complicating matters is the imminent return of Lane Thomas, combined with what the Guardians have received from Angel Martinez in center field. Thomas could be back in the relatively near future and that is going to cost someone playing time, and considering that Martinez has been a far superior option to both Noel and Jones with a bat in his hands, it will not be him who gets bumped for playing time.

To put it simply, unless Noel starts capitalizing on the opportunities he is given, expect him to be the one who sees the decrease in playing time. Perhaps a trip down to Triple-A so he could receive regular at-bats in an attempt for Noel to find some rhythm could be in order, but that seems like it could be a last-resort option for the Guardians at this time.