White Sox must resist temptation and avoid recently DFA'd Guardians slugger

As the offseason moves along, the White Sox are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to upgrade the team. The team has added LHP Anthony Kay to the pitching staff, but has yet to make any additions on offense despite rumors of interest in a few players. The White Sox desperately need to add power to their lineup and have questions about their outfield as it stands right now. A recent decision by the Cleveland Guardians has made an enticing option available, but the White Sox need to resist the temptation and avoid Jhonkensy Noel.. 

The Guardians first signed Noel out of the Dominican Republic in 2017. Dubbed “Big Christmas” because of his size and festive last name, Noel opened eyes in the minor leagues with his elite raw power. Noel spent two years in Rookie ball before making his full-season debut in 2021, where he posted an impressive .340/.390/.615 slash line with 19 home runs in 70 games across three levels. Noel reached the upper minors in 2022, and launched 32 home runs despite his batting average plummeting to .229. He spent the entire 2023 season with Triple-A Columbus, where he hit another 27 home runs. A red-hot start to 2024 earned him a big league call-up in June, and he showed the same power potential during his 67-game sample in 2024. The Guardians hoped Noel would establish himself as a lineup mainstay in 2025, but he took a major step back, hitting just .162 with a .480 OPS in 69 big league games. 

The Guardians designated Noel for assignment this week and will attempt to pass him through waivers to send him down. Any team will have a chance to claim him, however, so there’s a chance that Cleveland will lose him. While the power potential is incredibly enticing, and Noel is still just 24 years-old, he has enough red flags that I think the White Sox should pass here. 

The cons seem to outweigh the pros for Big Christmas

During his poor 2025 season, Noel walked just 2.6% of the time and chased at a near 50% clip. Despite one of the fastest swings in all of baseball, Noel only hit the ball hard 41.2% of the time, a below-average mark. To put things simply, he swings at everything, whiffs way too much, and isn’t hitting the ball particularly hard when he does make contact. Defensively, Noel has good arm strength but grades below-average in range and doesn’t run particularly well. The power he showed in the minor leagues is great, but raw power with no ability to consistently make contact isn’t going to produce at the big league level. 

It’s possible that Noel can make swing changes and improve his plate discipline enough to stick at the major league level, but it’s not worth gambling on at this stage. The White Sox need established, mature bats to supplement the young core, and already have one defensive liability in the outfield in Andrew Benintendi. Whichever outfielder(s) are brought in should be competent defensively and provide a spark to the lineup. The White Sox already have their outfield reclamation project in Everson Pereira, and should look for a more proven option to round out the roster.

Big Christmas may give another team a happy holiday season, but it’s not the right time for the White Sox, and Chris Getz needs to resist the temptation, even if it makes him a Scrooge.