Guardians Executive Exposes Brutal Reality for Struggling Slugger

Cleveland Guardians executive Chris Antonetti has revealed the stark truth for one of the team's struggling sluggers.

Nov 10, 2023; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, middle, talks to the media during an introductory press conference for new manager Stephen Vogt at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The 2025 MLB campaign has not been kind to Cleveland Guardians outfielder Jhonkensy Noel, who is slashing a meager .146/.170/.229 with two home runs and nine RBI over 100 plate appearances.

Most recently, Noel went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeout during the Guardians' 3-2 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, the latest poor showing in what has been an unfortunate trend for the slugger this season.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems is that Noel is simply not getting enough playing time, and Cleveland president Chris Antonetti disclosed that stark reality for the 23-year-old this week.

“There are things with Jhonkensy in particular with his swing that he could benefit from just more regular playing time,” Antonetti said, via Joe Noga of Cleveland.com. “But that’s really hard to do at the major league level because we’re trying to win each night and figure out what the best matchups are for us to win on any given day.”

Noel has been sharing right field with offseason trade acquisition Nolan Jones, who has collected 159 plate appearances thus far in 2025. The return of utility man David Fry has further complicated matters, as the 2024 All-Star further clogs the designated hitter slot.

Perhaps a demotion to Triple-A would be exactly what the doctor ordered for Noel, who has been completely out of sorts all season and lays claim to a 32 percent strikeout rate.

Last year, Noel flashed prodigious power, smashing 13 homers across 198 trips to the dish during the regular season. That resulted in the Dominican native posting a respectable .774 OPS. That being said, even with Noel's home-run power, he displayed significant deficiencies at the plate, logging a .288 OBP while totaling 63 strikeouts.

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