Guardians notes: Jhonkensy Noel has gone from spring training phenom to big league producer

CLEVELAND — The legend of Jhonkensy Noel began when the outfielder was launching balls way over the fence on a practice field at the Guardians' spring training site in Goodyear, Arizona. "I don't remember what field number in Arizona but he was hitting the ball really far, and I was like, 'Damn, he hits the ball really far,'" second baseman Andres Gimenez said. "But it's one thing in practice, and the game is another thing. To do it in practice and to do it in the game, that says a lot about him." Despite playing on a limited basis, Noel has been doing it a lot for the Guardians, entering Saturday with 13 home runs and 26 RBIs in 45 games. His HR total is the highest for a Cleveland player through the first 124 at-bats of his career. "I met him in November when I was in Arizona and he said he was working hard, and I said, 'Getting strong?' He said, 'No, getting fast,'" manager Stephen Vogt said. "And right there, that told me, 'I'm already plenty strong. I'm going to keep getting stronger but I want get more agile. I want to be able to play some outfield and first base and move around.' "What he's done in this short stint here has been so much fun to watch, and he's dangerous. His defense has just been phenomenal." Noel was batting .300 (15-for-50) with 13 RBIs over his last 15 games through Friday. He knows if he keeps producing, he'll keep playing. "It feels good, because I know if I keep doing my job the opportunities will be there and I will be able to show what I can do," he said through an interpreter. He's the one Vogt confirmed that right-hander Alex Cobb would be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's series finale against the Pirates. Major league baseball rules prohibit Cobb from wearing anything other than a Band-Aid or wrap to protect the broken fingernail on his pitching hand. "There's not a whole lot we can do outside of just the normal medical stuff," Vogt said. "He's gotta have feel with it so you can't just put something over it. You can put a Band-Aid on it but I don't know how much that's going to protect it. You can't really wrap it around the nail. I know our medical staff will have him ready to go." Cobb will be one of the players added when rosters are allowed to expand from 26 to 28 today. The other is expected to be Kyle Manzardo, who was with the team on the taxi squad Saturday. Back in there Josh Naylor returned to the lineup after an ankle injury forced him to leave Friday's series opener against the Pirates in the eighth inning. Naylor was imaged after the game and no structural damage was discovered. "He's good, responded really well to treatment (Friday) night," Vogt said. "Talked to him this morning, he said he's feeling much better. Have him DH and not expose him to the defensive side and have something really bad happen." Swinging it Gimenez entered Saturday batting .281 (34-121) over his last 33 games — 9-for-30 over his last eight games — to raise his season average from .244 to .254. "I've been watching a lot of videos and spending a lot of time in the cage working with coaches, trying to figure out some things," Gimenez said. "But at the same time understanding that the game is like that. The game is a roller coaster. We're winning. That's the most important thing." Never say die Cleveland recorded its major league-leading 38th comeback victory Friday night. "I wish there was a magic pill for comebacks but there's not," Vogt said. "It's just who our guys are. We really truly believe we're going to win every night. It's almost like, when we take a big blow, we deliver one back. We don't run away. That's really the mentality of this team is that we face adversity head on. "We've gone through our fair share this year, had a lot of things not go our way, and we've responded to all of them. I think it's just the fight that our group has and the belief that we're going to come out on top no matter how it looks." Roundin' third Closer Emmanuel Clase is the first Cleveland closer to record 40 or more saves in three or more seasons. He is one of 11 MLB closers to have notched 40 or more over three straight years, and the first since the Braves' Craig Kimbrell from 2011-14. His career ERA stood at 1.73, the lowest in MLB history. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter @CAwesomeheimer.