The Cleveland Guardians season have had a tumultuous season, lowlighted by a pair of their players being suspended for gambling allegations. But before the Guardians even played their first game, one of their outfielders was living in his own world of chaos.
While he has coming off of a down year, Nolan Jones thought he'd have an opportunity to bounce back with the Colorado Rockies. He had prepared to play with the Rockies all offseason and had sent all of his belongings to Colorado. But on the same day, as he arrived for a spring training camp, Jones was notified that he was being traded.
However, he wasn't told where for about four hours, as physicals were being finalized. He was obviously curious about where he was going and began making some calls. One of them was to then-Guardians infielder Tyler Freeman. He informed Jones that he had been traded as well but wasn't told where. Jones was able to put the pieces together, and soon enough, the Jones for Freeman swap was finalized via Baseball Isn't Boring.
“I had plans of being in Colorado,” Jones said. “Then two days before the season started, we had just shipped all of our stuff to Colorado. They basically called me and told me I was being traded. But it was pending physicals, so they were unable to tell me where.”
“I called Tyler Freeman. Tyler was basically in tears, upset, told me, ‘I got traded but they can't tell me where, it'd pending a physical.' I was like, ‘Well, I think I know where you're going.'”
Morning Podcast: The Wild Adventures Of Nolan Jones
Listen Here ➡️ https://t.co/uAZfs0Xt8m pic.twitter.com/iruwoesTET— Baseball Isn’t Boring (@BBisntBoring) September 5, 2025
Baseball is ultimately a business at the end of the day, and the situation surrounding Jones' trade is just another part of it. He is at least now playing for a team, just 3.5 games out of the Wild Card hunt. If that doesn't sound so appealing, go check out the Rockies' record.
Nolan Jones' debut with Guardians
During the 2023 season, Jones broke onto the scene by hitting .297 with 20 home runs, 62 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. But ever since, he hasn't been able to come close to those marks. At the very least, the Guardians were hopeful a change of scenery would get Jones back on track.
But through his first 122 games with the team, the outfielder is hitting .214 with five home runs, 31 RBI, and eight stolen bases. While he has gotten opportunities in the middle of the lineup, Jones hasn't been as consistent as Cleveland has hoped.
The Guardians will have plenty of time to develop Jones if they choose to do so, however. At 27 years old, he is under team control through the 2028 season. He'll need to prove he belongs as an everyday outfielder, but his contractual status will put him in good favor with the team.
Jones and the Guardians will look to end the season strong, ending things off on the right foot. But for however memorable the ending is, Jones won't forget how he first came to Cleveland.
