The Guardians outrighted outfielder Nolan Jones off the roster, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. That indicates the Guards passed him through waivers in recent days. Their 40-man count drops to 39. Jones has the right to elect free agency but likely won’t do so because he would have to forfeit his $2MM salary. Meisel adds that right-hander Hunter Gaddis and outfielder George Valera are highly likely to begin the season on the injured list.
Jones, 28 in May, seemed to have a breakout season with the Rockies in 2023. He had a 20-20 season that year in just 106 games. His .297/.389/.542 batting line translated to a 137 wRC+. He got some help from a .401 batting average on balls in play but it would have been a strong campaign even with more neutral luck in that department. On the whole, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 3.7 wins above replacement that year.
He has been far less productive since then. His offense cratered in 2024. The Rockies traded him back to the Guardians, his original organization, ahead of the 2025 season. Returning to Cleveland didn’t help him get back on track. He has a .218/.307/.311 line and 71 wRC+ since the start of the 2024 season and his defensive metrics have also declined. Despite the diminished production and the fact that Jones is out of options, the Guards tendered him a contract this winter. Jones and the club avoided arbitration with a $2MM pre-tender deal in November.
Jones also hasn’t had a good spring, having hit .152/.222/.303 in 36 plate appearances. Given the downward trend with his performance, his out-of-options status and his salary, it’s unsurprising that no club claimed him via waivers.
Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to walk away from their remaining salary commitments in doing so. Jones has three years and seven days of service. If he were to elect free agency, he would have to leave $2MM on the table. It seems highly likely that he’ll head to Triple-A and look to get back on track at that level.
As for the injuries, Meisel didn’t provide specifics but both players have been slowed by minor issues in recent weeks. Gaddis made just one in-game appearance this spring, which was back in late February. He then experienced some forearm tightness and underwent imaging, which came back clean, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. His timeline still isn’t clear. A season-opening stint on the 15-day IL can be backdated three days, so he could be back less than two weeks into the season, though that scenario is obviously dependant on him building back up to readiness in that time frame.
Gaddis has been a key setup arm for the Guards in recent years, with 68 holds since the start of 2024. He posted a 3.11 earned run average last year while striking out 26.6% of opponents and limiting walks to a 7.7% clip. For whatever time Gaddis misses, guys like Shawn Armstrong and Erik Sabrowski will move up to leverage roles in front of closer Cade Smith.
More to come.
