The Guardians player on the thinnest ice entering 2026 season

At the start of spring training last year, the Guardians decided to take a swing on a familiar face by trading for Nolan Jones from the Colorado Rockies. 

After initially coming up with the Guardians and seeing a cup of coffee with them in 2022, the Guardians elected to sell high on Nolan’s development by trading him to the Rockies in exchange for infield prospect Juan Brito. 

What a journey it’s been for Jones since then. He had a breakout 2023 season where he hit .297 with 20 home runs followed by a disaster 2024 campaign that led to the Rockies considering him to be expendable. 

And, after another rough season in 2025, Jones’ time in Cleveland could be on its last legs if things don’t change at the start of 2026. 

Nolan Jones needs to play better for the Guardians in 2026 

Jones finished last season with a .211/.296/.304 slashline with just five home runs and 34 RBI. He was 32% worse than league average by measure of OPS. 

That performance wasn’t enough to dissuade the Guardians on his talents, however, as they tendered him a $2 million contract for 206 as opposed to letting him go at the non-tender deadline.

But just because he’s back doesn’t mean that he’s a lock to be the Guardians’ right fielder next season. 

While Will Brennan and Lane Thomas are out of the picture, George Valera and Chase DeLauter both seem poised to see more time in right after appearing at the end of last season along with C.J. Kayfus, who can moonlight as a right fielder when needed. 

Jones led the way with 101 appearances in right field last season but missed the final weeks of the season with an oblique strain, which resulted in Valera seeing more time in right and DeLauter making his MLB debut in the postseason. 

One thing that Jones does have going for him is his advanced metrics, as he finished last year in the 70th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 66th percentile in exit velocity. But he’ll need to turn those advanced stats into tangible results if he wants to stick around in the Guardians’ outfield picture. 

We got a brief look into how good he can be at the end of August when he hit big home runs in back-to-back games against the Rays and Mariners, but he ended up hitting just .170 without a home run in the 19 games after that before going on the shelf.

Velera and DeLauter are at a point in their career where they still have plenty of potential, whereas Jones has disappointed in two straight seasons. 

Jones will get plenty of chances to prove himself in spring training even if the Guardians bring in some external options, but the clock is beginning to tick behind him.