Rumors of Nolan Jones promotion has to shake up Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians will promote prospect Nolan Jones and the outfielder will join the club for the series opener against the Royals in Kansas City on Friday.
The news of Jones’ promotion comes from Guardians Prospective (Twitter link). No, @CleGuardPro doesn’t have the blue check mark but this account not need one. Count on Jones being in the dugout as the Guardians look to breath some life in the lineup.
Cleveland really had no choice but to promote Jones, as the team severely lacks any power threat. Oscar Gonzalez wasn’t hitting homers before he hit the IL, but he at least presented the threat of someone who might do some damage.
Additionally, Jose Ramirez thumb is clearly bothering him. He has one RBI in his last 16 games. If he’s not cutting it, the lineup can be anemic.
Jones was once near the upper echelon of Cleveland’s prospect rankings, but his star dipped a bit last season, as he struggled to hit lefties. He hit .238 overall and struck out 122 times in 341 at-bats.
Jones seems to have changed his approach at the plate, as he’s hitting .311 (.921 OPS) in 23 games (90 at-bats).
He’ll likely play right field with Jose Ramirez cemented at third base.
Cleveland Guardians need to also think about Will Brennan
Jones was out of the Clippers’ lineup tonight, but Will Brennan is still in Triple A, batting third. The team doesn’t want to give up on Myles Straw and understandably so. But Straw’s been so bad lately, what harm is it to give Brennan a look, especially in a short-stint leading up to the All-Star Break.
Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto compared Brennan to Steven Kwan, but Brennan is bigger. He’s hitting the cover off the ball in Columbus, batting .365 (.957 OPS). In his minor-league career, the Kansas State product is hitting .298 (.813 OPS).
Straw is batting .194 and has on-base percentage of .292, well below his career mark of .329. The Guardians invested in Straw though, giving him a $25 million extension before the season.
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The hope is he can return to his career averages, but things are bleak right now, so why not Brennan?