Guardians Complete Trade With Rockies for Former Top Prospect

The Cleveland Guardians acquired Nolan Jones from the Colorado Rockies for Tyler Freeman.

Feb 26, 2024; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Colorado Rockies outfielder Nolan Jones against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Guardians have made some rather intriguing moves since the 2024 season ended.

Cleveland's front office made another fascinating move on Saturday, pulling off a trade to bring a familiar face back into the organization.

The Guardians announced on Saturday that they are trading UTL Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies for OF Nolan Jones.

We have acquired OF Nolan Jones in exchange for UTL Tyler Freeman.

Welcome back, Nolan!#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/4XVDiAaWNd

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 22, 2025

Tyler Freeman has put together a wonderful spring, hitting .308/.413/.667 with an OPS of 1.080. With the offensive numbers, Freeman had firmly cemented himself into the second-base competition.

However, his struggles during the regular season over the last thee years can't be ignored.

Now, Gabriel Arias looks like he'll start on the middle-right side of the infield to start the season.

The Nolan Jones aspect of this trade is more than intriguing.

Heading into the 2019 season, Jones was viewed as Cleveland's second-ranked prospect, with Freeman right behind him at number three.

Jones was initially drafted by Cleveland in 2016 and spent his first five professional seasons in the organization.

He made his debut in 2022, but after just 86 at-bats, Jones was sent down to Triple-A and was traded over the offseason.

The Guardians traded Jones for Juan Brito, who is currently their 10th-ranked prospect and was also in the second-base conversation to start the season before he was optioned to Triple-A.

The slugger made the Guardians pay for that move in 2023, hitting 20 home runs and posting a 140 OPS+. However, he wasn't nearly the same hitter during his 2024 injury-riddled season.

Will Brennan and Jhonkensy Noel appeared to be Cleveland's platoon in right field heading into the regular season, but now Jones enters the picture and could be another option against right-handed pitching.

It will be interesting to see how Jones enters Cleveland's outfield picture.

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