BREAKING NEWS: Guardians Play Uno Reverse Card, Re-acquire Nolan Jones
Tyler Freeman is headed to Colorado
Well, folks, the Cleveland Guardians have acquired a left-handed hitting outfielder with some pop. You may be familiar with him - his name is Nolan Jones.
We have acquired OF Nolan Jones in exchange for UTL Tyler Freeman.
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) March 22, 2025
Welcome back, Nolan!#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/4XVDiAaWNd
The Guardians traded infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman to Coloraso to get Jones' back. Assuredly, this means Gabriel Arias, Juan Brito or (less likely) Daniel Schneemann will be starting at second base come Opening Day.
Jones was a second-round pick for the Guardians in 2016 and made his debut in 2022 for the club, before being traded to the Rockies for Juan Brito. Jones proceeded to put up 137 wRC+ and almost 4 fWAR for Colorado, leaving many to lament the Guardians' front office's choice to move on from the first power-hitting outfielder any of us had seen around these parts for a good while. But, Jones then had an injury-riddled 2024, putting up only a 70 wRC+ in around 300 plate appearances. This led many Guardians' fans to say "See, the front office was right after all!"
Well, it looks like both sides of this debate now have a chance to be right, as the Guardians have apparently found their platoon partner for Jhonkensy Noel in right field. ZiPS projects Jones for 107 wRC+ overall, but an .805 OPS vs RHP. If healthy, he was also a solid right fielder in 2023, putting up 1 Defensive Run Saved and 1 Out Above Average, with one of the best arms in baseball out there.
I am not sure what this trade means for Will Brennan, but I am happy the Guardians are trying to fix their slugging issues, especially against RHP. Jones has a 114 wRC+ against RHP in the big leagues, compared to Brennan's 104. He's also a year younger than the Guardians' erstwhile left fielder.
The next few days just got a lot more interesting and we will see if there are more moves coming, but it's fun to imagine Jones returning to something closer to the 137 wRC+ he did in 2023 in the Cleveland lineup which now may look something like this:
1. Kwan LF
2. Jose 3B
3. Santana 1B
4. Manzardo DH
5. Jones/Noel RF
6. Thomas CF
7. Bo C
8. Arias 2B
8. Rocchio SS