In the 2024 postseason, Jhonkensy Noel hit one of the most dramatic and clutch home runs in recent Cleveland Guardians history.
That game-tying blast in the AL Championship Series against the New York Yankees will be forever imprinted in fans’ minds and hearts.
His 2025 campaign, however, has been a complete and utter disappointment.
Noel is batting .150/.179/.250 entering play on Monday.
His .429 OPS is one of the worst marks in the league.
As hard to believe as it might be, his numbers from May 2 through Sunday are even worse.
He homered on May 1, but from May 2 until the 18th, the powerful, yet inconsistent slugger is hitting an awful .048/.091/.095 with a negative -55 wRC+ in 22 plate appearances.
He has one hit over those 22 trips to the plate, and is striking out at a rate over 40 percent during that span.
At this point, Noel’s place on the major league roster has to be in jeopardy, as he isn’t contributing to the team right now.
The team brought up Will Brennan in the past few days, and if Noel doesn’t get into a rhythm, we could see him in Triple-A with the Guardians, trying out guys like Johnathan Rodriguez or Petey Halpin.
Noel isn’t a lost cause: he swatted 31 home runs last year, 13 of them in the majors with an above-average 118 wRC+.
The team has been very patient to this point, though, and is in the stage in which it needs results in order to justify carrying Noel on their roster.
Noel has potential for much more than a 16 wRC+.
He is a flawed hitter, yes, but he is also much better than this.
If he wants to play, he needs to show it.
NEXT: Bruce Drennan Reveals Major Injury Update On Shane Bieber
