The Cleveland Guardians have two outfield slots locked and loaded for 2025: Steven Kwan in left field and Lane Thomas in center.
Right field, however, is completely up for grabs.
As many as four or five names are in the mix.
You have Will Brennan, who still seems to have a bit of untapped potential despite underwhelming results to this point.
You have Jhonkensy Noel and his immense raw power and overall inconsistency.
There is Angel Martinez, too, who would be playing out of position.
Uber-prospect Chase DeLauter could make the team out of camp, even if it’s unlikely.
How about Johnathan Rodriguez?
The 25-year-old was the International League (Triple-A) MVP with 29 home runs, 94 RBI and a .301 batting average this season.
Cleveland #Guardians OF prospect Johnathan Rodriguez makes his season debut for @CarolinaLBPRC in the @LBPRC tonight.
Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the Guardians in 2024. He was also named the International League MVP hitting .301 with 29 HR's and 94 RBI's over 118 games… pic.twitter.com/WBx1g4YLco
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) November 21, 2024
He is currently playing Winter Ball in Puerto Rico, hoping to stay active ahead of the 2025 campaign.
For him, it will be a pivotal year.
Thanks to his 140 wRC+ in Triple-A, he could be in consideration for that right field spot.
There is work to be done, though, because he received 40 at-bats at the major league level this year and did next to nothing with them.
Rodriguez struck out 35 percent of the time in MLB, hitting .129 with a 63 wRC+.
In other words, he was 37 percent worse than the league average hitter, which is horrendous.
We can’t judge him for 40 trips to the plate, though: he needs more of a chance.
His swing is flawed, but he does have power and could eventually adjust to MLB pitching if given the chance.
At the very least, he should be given a fair opportunity to earn that right field spot in spring training.
NEXT: Guardians Reporter Reveals List Of Potential 2025 Signings Ahead Of International Free Agency Class
