The Cleveland Guardians have completed a trade with the Colorado Rockies that will reunite them with outfielder Nolan Jones in exchange for utility man Tyler Freeman, per MLB.com's Tim Stebbins (originally reported by Thomas Harding).

The organization that first drafted Jones in the second round of the 2016 MLB Draft is ready to give him another look. Cleveland traded him for infielder Juan Brito in November of 2022 but is clearly pleased with the progress he has made in Colorado.

Despite a brutal and injury-riddled 2024 season, which saw the 26-year-old bat just .227 with with three home runs in 79 games, Jones has flashed a great deal of talent in the past. Plenty of people expected a genuine breakout campaign with the Rockies last year, or even a possible All-Star selection, but maybe he needs a change of scenery to unlock his full abilities.

Guardians look to round out roster before 2025 season

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Although the Guardians initially moved off of Jones, they have a track record of developing productive position players. He can provide added pop to a lineup that was looking quite thin following the Josh Naylor trade and David Fry's elbow injury. Even if the Pennsylvania native does not return to his 2023 form (.297 batting average, 20 homers in 106 games), he seemingly carries a higher ceiling than the player Cleveland shipped out to the National League.

Freeman, a second-rounder himself, has a .223/.304/.329/.632 slash line through 206 games. He is still only 25 years of age, though, so perhaps the Rockies believe he can figure out something at the plate. His versatility should come in handy as well, but fans surely expected a bit more upside in a Nolan Jones trade package.

While Colorado continues its long rebuild, the wheels are turning in the Guardians' front office. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti struck an agreement with starting pitcher Tanner Bibee on a five-year contract extension and then quickly shifted his attention to getting a deal done with the Rockies. Regardless of how the franchise's offseason approach works out, it appears motivated to stay in the American League playoff conversation.

Jones does not have much time to adjust to his new reality. Opening Day is on March 27.