Nola Jones sticks in Guardians’ system after being outrighted off roster 

Nolan Jones’ time with the Guardians isn’t done quite yet. 

After being outrighted off the Guardians’ roster over the weekend following a dismal spring, Jones accepted his outright to the minors and will start the season with Triple-A Columbus. 

While players with Jones’ MLB background don’t tend to accept minor league assignments, Jones declining the invite means that he’d forfeit the $2 million he’s guaranteed to make in 2026. 

Jones’ decision was no-brainer, but it makes Cleveland’s decision to tender Jones a contract even more puzzling. 

The Guardians are going to pay Nolan Jones to play at Triple-A in 2026 

The Guardians reunited with Jones at this time last year via a trade with the Rockies in exchange for infielder Tyler Freeman. 

While Freeman struggled a bit during his time with the Rockies, the trade set off a domino effect across the Guardians roster that eventually cost Will Brennan his spot on the roster. 

And Jones largely failed to do much with his opportunity, as he finished last season with a  .211/.296/.304 slashline in 136 games. While he hit the ball hard, his swing had a huge hole in it (28%) strikeout rate. 

His time on the roster came to an end in September thanks to an oblique strain that eventually opened up the door for George Valera and Chase DeLauter to make the Guardians’ postseason roster. 

They also lapped Jones this spring thanks in large part to him hitting just .152 in 12 games this spring. While he opened the spring slate with a big home run against the Brewers, he wasn’t able to do much of anything afterward. 

And although the Guardians made the right decision to outright Jones off the roster since he shouldn’t be standing in front of any of the team’s young options, it doesn’t change the fact the Guardians are going to be paying him to play in the minors. 

For most teams, that kind of decision doesn’t mean much. But the Guardians’ front office is among baseball’s most frugal so every dollar counts. 

Jones is the second former MLBer who will be on a guaranteed salary in 2026 along with reliever Trevor Stephan, who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery. The Guardians sent Stephan to Triple-A last week after he had been in big league camp in the spring.

Jones showed just how good he can be in his fantastic 2023 season where he hit .297 with 20 home runs and 62 RBi with the Rockies. 

But he’s struggled to do much of anything since, and his demotion to the minors is another example of that. 

Still, it’s hard to believe Jones won’t make some kind of big league impression for the Guardians in 2026 thanks to the attrition that comes with MLB’s 162 game schedule.