The Cleveland Guardians need consistency from Nolan Jones.
One of the big decisions the Cleveland Guardians are facing coming out of Spring Training is whether or not Nolan Jones should be on the Opening Day roster, or if it’s time for the two sides to risk parting ways again.
Jones had a rough and underwhelming 2025 season after being traded to the Guardians days before the season began. The organization clearly still saw something in Jones to agree to a contract to avoid arbitration, but from afar, many of those same issues that plagued Jones’ 2025 campaign have still been present during
Grant Fink, Cleveland’s hitting coach, recently talked about what he’s seen from Jones and what the Guardians are hoping he can do during Spring Training.
“Nolan spent his offseason at Driveline, and the entire goal of him [being there] was trying to figure out how to get on time for the fastball more,” Fink said.
Last year, Nolan had an xBA of .238 against the fastball, which was actually the high of all three pitch types, but he also had a whiff rate of 21.5 percent.
Sep 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Nolan Jones (22) hits a single in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesThe early returns from the trip to driveline had many people excited about what type of hitting Jones could be in 2026. In Nolan’s first at bat of Cactus League action, he ripped a home run off a heater that was almost direction down the middle of the plate.
But it’s been downhill since then. Including that big first game, Jones has a slash line of .115/.148/.269 with 13 strikeouts in 26 at-bats.
Stats don’t always mean everything in the spring, but these numbers are still concerning.
Fink continued that, “Ultimately, he's trying to just get his best swing up more often in games, and we're seeing that sporadically, and we're just pushing it to be a little more consistent as he goes out there to, you know, get that quality swing off, to be convicted in the pitches he's hunting and and to be dangerous at the plate.”
Hearing Cleveland’s hitting coach talk about Jones, it’s clear the Guardians have a plan for him. But at what point do they have to make some tough decisions with the roster if that plan doesn’t pan out?
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