The Cleveland Guardians went into this offseason with a clear need for big upgrades to the offense, which let the team down in October and ultimately contributed to their demise in the ALCS.
Cleveland’s front office hasn’t made the type of splash many fans were hoping for this offseason.
Instead, any offensive improvements are going to have to come from internal sources, with young right fielder Jhonkensy Noel being a prime candidate for an increased role.
Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes recently wrote an article about whether the 2025 Guardians can surpass last season’s success and discussed Noel’s role on this team.
“The Guardians like platooning and I imagine Noel will be involved in some kind of platoon in right field or DH,” Hoynes said.
He is right to point out how much this team enjoys platooning.
The Guardians have a handful of lefty bats in the outfield, including Will Brennan, Kyle Manzardo, and Daniel Schneemann, who could see some time at DH along with Noel.
In 179 at-bats last season, Big Christmas hit .218 with 13 home runs and 28 RBI and had the biggest hit of the postseason when he launched his iconic pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning of Game 3 to help his Guardians avoid a 3-0 hole.
He had a .968 OPS against lefties and just a .683 OPS against righties, so he still has to prove to everyone that he can be more than just a platoon option.
Hopefully, that will be the case, and he can establish a larger role for himself.
Noel has the 40-homer type of power and would be the addition this team needs if he can compel management to include him in the lineup.
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