Jones didn't think he'd be back in Cleveland. He's hungry to prove why he is

PEORIA, Ariz. -- As Nolan Jones moved out of Cleveland last fall, heading home for the winter following the Guardians’ 2025 season, he was not sure if he would be back.

Jones had a tough 2025 campaign with the Guardians, and appeared to be a potential non-tender candidate heading into the offseason. After the season, he wanted to shift his focus toward spending time with his loved ones, including his wife, Morgan, and daughter, Kamryn, while waiting to see what ‘26 could bring for him.

“I didn't think it was gonna happen,” Jones said of the Guardians bringing him back for 2026. “I've been terrible the last two years. I know I had a good rookie year [in 2023], but I've been really bad the last two years.

“After what I did last year and [given] the young talent that we have here, I didn't see myself fitting in here.”

The Guardians (who lost 8-7 to the Mariners on Thursday at Peoria Stadium) ultimately agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with Jones in November to avoid arbitration. This spring, the 27-year-old is looking to secure his place on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster in a crowded outfield mix.

Jones is grateful to have another opportunity to prove himself in Cleveland.

“Obviously, I couldn't be more happy to be back and get a second chance to make right what I believe that I'm capable of,” Jones said.

The Guardians reacquired Jones (who was their second-round Draft pick in 2016) from the Rockies near the end of Spring Training last March. They hoped he could add a powerful presence to their outfield mix. He was not far removed from a ‘23 season in which he had a .297/.389/.542 slash line with 20 homers in 106 games with Colorado.

Jones ultimately slashed .211/.296/.304 with five homers and a 28% strikeout rate in 136 games last year. He finished the season on the injured list with a right oblique strain. It all followed his injury-riddled 2024 season with Colorado, when he slashed .227/.321/.320 with three homers in 79 games.

Jones wanted to be prepared for all scenarios entering 2026.

“You don't perform, you don't have a job, and I haven't performed in two years. It’s the reality of it,” Jones said. “I think that the worst thing I could do for myself is not be realistic, and think that I deserve something that I don't deserve or haven't earned.

“… I’m ecstatic that I'm back and get another chance at it.”

Jones is trying to put last season in the rearview mirror and start fresh. He has a chance to wipe the slate clean of 2025, through the blank canvas of a new campaign. He noted he entered camp as comfortable as he has been in a while, and the Guardians were also excited to have a full offseason working with him. They’ve seen flashes of whom he has been and whom he could be.

One of those flashes came early this spring. Jones (who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Thursday) belted the Guardians' first homer of Cactus League play on Saturday against the Brewers. His fifth-inning three-run blast had a 112.3 mph exit velocity and went a Statcast-projected 421 feet.

We know Jones has that type of power potential. It’s just a matter of harnessing it.

“We’re seeing somebody who is just free right now,” manager Stephen Vogt said Sunday. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself, and last year didn’t go the way he would have wanted it to go. To get a couple of results this early in camp, it just kind of solidifies the work you put in all winter, and can be something to build off of.”

As Jones alluded to, Cleveland has a bevy of young outfielders in camp, including Chase DeLauter (MLB Pipeline’s No. 46 overall prospect), George Valera, CJ Kayfus, Petey Halpin, Angel Martínez, Johnathan Rodríguez and Kahlil Watson.

• DeLauter (lower body soreness) day to day after scratch

Spring Training results are not the be all and end all, but there’s competition here, and Jones entered this spring with something to prove.

Jones’ second chance is right in front of him. He just has to capture it.

“I feel like I'm in a really good spot,” Jones said. “I feel healthy. I feel strong mentally. I feel like I'm in the best spot I've been in a really long time. I have everything I've ever dreamed of in my life.

“I have a beautiful family. I have a wonderful wife, a healthy daughter. I feel like heading into the season, it's all I could ask for.”