Jhonkensy Noel will get outfield reps in spring training

The vibes of this team are immaculate. Bring on the regular season, already.

Cleveland Guardians news

Terry Francona looking for quick-change artists: Guardians spring training rundown | Cleveland
No surprises here — the Guardians want versatile defenders. In addition to Tyler Freeman and Gabriel Arias getting outfield reps, Jhonkensy Noel — who apparently has the nickname “La Belleza” (Spanish for “The Beauty”) from his teammates — will be working out in the outfield in spring training. He played a handful of outfield innings in the minors last year, as well.

Q&A with Joey Cantillo, intriguing Guardians prospect | MLB
Nothing particularly deep here, but a good “better know a player” kind of interview. I especially like how he described the Guardians’ pitching development staff — there seems to be nothing but rave reviews from everyone who comes up through the system, which is what you want to see.

Just the best. That’s what I would describe it as. I think just internally the people they have, the minds they have and then the way they’re able to do it. ... They do the best job with taking the information and data that’s out there, but applying it to a player and applying it to where a player can take that information and use it, which I feel like a lot of other organizations probably struggle in that sense of, like, ‘How do we take all this objective data?’ and apply it to actual ‘How do I get outs?’

Could Cleveland Guardians benefit from shift to baseball’s TV rights model? | Akron Beacon Journal
The death of cable’s grip on sports broadcasting wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

What can Guardians’ Steven Kwan do for an encore in 2023? ‘I’ll take more initiative’ | The Athletic $$$
Steven Kwan is doing everything he can to avoid a sophomore slump. Also, he’s aware that the umps were screwing him on outside calls more than anyone (although he doesn’t quite see it that way).

Notes from the DR: Guardians’ Jaison Chourio — Jackson’s brother — making his own name | The Athletic $$$
Sorry for the double-dip of subscription articles, but I can’t not link this excellent write-up of Guards prospect Jaison Chourio. Check it out if you can.

Around the league

• The Padres are easing Fernando Tatis Jr. back into baseball.
• Albert Pujols is rejoining the Angels as a special assistant.
• Lance McCullers Jr. won’t be ready for Opening Day.
• Pitcher List has a new metric called pitch level value.