The Cleveland Guardians need to make some moves in free agency. However, it seems like they might feel comfortable just running it back with some of their current guys.
At least, that’s what bringing back Nolan Jones makes it seem. It was an unorthodox decision by an organization that usually takes pride in rolling with young players.
With that in mind, panelists from the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast discussed the team’s approach and this decision. Clearly, they weren’t happy about it:
“For a front office that’s constantly going back to ‘We don’t want to bring in veteran stopgap guys because we don’t want to block development opportunities,’ bringing back Jones just seems to run against that whole philosophy,” Noga said. “It’s a head scratcher of a move. Is there anything they can do with him in terms of either making him a trade chip or is he a guy who they really do see as a piece that they can use in center or right field?”
Jones has never lived up to the hype in Cleveland, but the front office continues to be enamored with him. They acquired him shortly after initially sending him to the Colorado Rockies, and the fact that they chose to avoid arbitration and brought him back for another season speaks volumes about the way they feel about him.
As things stand now, the Guardians will continue to roll with Steven Kwan at left field, and rookie Chase DeLauter will get the nod in center field. They have David Fry, George Valera, Petey Halpin, and even Angel Martinez for the other spot, so there might be a bit of a logjam there with Jones.
For years, the Guardians have been in the mix for more firepower in the outfield, and while the youngsters might be the answer to their prayers, it seems like they also want to create some competition there. Whether that’s the right approach remains to be seen, but this was certainly a bit of a shocking move.
NEXT: 2 Guardians Prospects Predicted To Make Opening Day Lineup
