Why the Cleveland Guardians need Nolan Jones to bounce back in the 2026 season

Nolan Jones' time is ticking with the Cleveland Guardians.

In 2025, the 27-year-old slashed .211/.296/.304 for an OPS of .600 as the team's primary right fielder. The season was expected to be a bounce-back stint for Jones, who was coming off of a down year in 2024, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

He was statistically one of the worst outfielders at the plate in the entire league at a mark of 72 wRC+. Defensively, he was fine, putting up a fielding percentage at 99.3% with just one error in over 600 innings in right field. He's slated to be the team's starting right fielder in the upcoming season, but his time is ticking with plenty of really good prospects ahead of him.

At the tail end of last season, the front office decided to bring up prospects George Valera and Chase DeLauter, both of whom showed signs of promise.

Unless Jones takes a step back to his 2023 Colorado Rockies form in 2026, he may be on a short leash this season.

However, he's showing signs of being a legitimate everyday bat for a major league team, as long as he can just be more consistent.

So, were 2024 and 2025 just off years?

Nolan Jones hits HARD and OFTEN.

Nolan Jones finished the season with a 46.7% hard hit rate, good for first among eligible #Guardians batters.

His 115 total hits at 95+ miles per hour is good for 4th on the team.

(via Statcast | https://t.co/W4WQIxjqBo)#guardsball pic.twitter.com/ZmuPHPIrAk
— Guardians Nation (@GuardiansNation) December 30, 2025

A review of his advanced statistics shows that Jones was trying to fill a role for the Guardians' outfield platoon that was missing: heavy-hitting.

The former second-round pick in the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft finished in the 70th percentile in the league in Hard-Hit% at 46.7%, which ranked him first on the Guardians. He was also above average in Exit Velocity and LA Sweet-Spot% at a mark of 35.8%.

Jones has stood out with his physical characteristics, coming in the 95th percentile in Arm Value and 99th percentile in Arm Strength.

He's got all the tools to be a successful player in the MLB, the size, the strength and the game IQ.

If he can just be more consistent at the plate and cut down on his strikeouts, a mark he came in at negative eight in runs against fastballs last season, he could actually find himself in a position where it's tough for the coaching staff to decide on who's the team's everyday right fielder.

The unfortunate thing for Jones is that his time is running short. As he slowly approaches the age of 30, he's going to start drawing less interest from teams around the league if he can't start to get his bat in form. He also no longer has any minor league options.

If Jones can stay healthy in the upcoming season and refine his approach against fastballs, he still profiles as a potential league-average contributor, and someone who winning teams rely on at the margins.

For now, Cleveland needs to hope he can bounce back. The organization needs him now, more than ever, especially with their outfielding unit finishing nearly dead last in batting average and OPS last season.

The first chance for Jones to get back up to speed in a game scenario will be MLB Spring Training, which is just under two months away. The Guardians will open up against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, Feb. 21, with first pitch slated for 3:05 p.m. EST.