On March 22, the Colorado Rockies surprisingly traded outfielder Nolan Jones back to the Cleveland Guardians for utility player Tyler Freeman. Jones struggled mightily last season after a stellar 2023 with the Rockies. In 17 Cactus League games with the Rockies, Jones again struggled offensively, hitting .234 with no home runs and just seven RBI. The Rockies had seen enough to think Jones would not reclaim his 2023 form. He was traded back to Cleveland, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2016. The Rockies quietly got Freeman in return, and he’s been a steal.
Assessing the Tyler Freeman Trade for the Rockies
Leading Up to the Trade
Alongside Jones still struggling offensively, the Rockies did suddenly have a void to fill at second base. After non-tendering Brendan Rodgers, the Rockies planned to start Thairo Estrada at second base. But Estrada suffered a non-displaced fractured right wrist after getting hit by a pitch on March 20. So, Colorado got the utility player in Freeman. The Guardians felt that Jones could perhaps find offensive success again in familiar territory.
The craziest aspect of this trade is how both players found out. Jones and Freeman are very close friends. After being pulled from their respective spring training games, they FaceTimed each other. Shortly afterwards, both players connected the dots and realized they had been traded for one another. Both were set to receive plenty of playing time with their new squads. Freeman would play all over the field with Colorado but could platoon with Kyle Farmer and Adael Amador at second. Jones has been the Guardians’ starting right fielder, playing in 71 games. Freeman has played in 40 games for the Rockies, with just six games at second, one at third, nine at designated hitter, and 23 in right field.
Nolan Jones and Tyler Freeman, friends from their time together with Cleveland, Face Timed each other to say they had been traded.
Eventually, they realized the Rockies and Guardians had them for each other. pic.twitter.com/N2m551JynJ
— Patrick Lyons (@PatrickDLyons) March 24, 2025
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Jones and Freeman Going in Different Directions
Tyler Freeman played in seven games with the Rockies before suffering a left oblique strain. The injury kept him out for over a month. However, he was serviceable in nine games in May before exploding in June. Freeman has hit .406/.488/.551 with a whopping 28 hits and 14 runs over 69 June at-bats. Overall, he is hitting .324/.409/.432, a drastic improvement from last season. Freeman hit just .209 last season with a .626 OPS. He has raised his OPS to .842 this season. It had never been above .661 in his career.
Freeman saw a 12-game hitting streak end after a 0-for-3 day against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 26. But, according to Statmuse, Freeman hit .366 with 15 hits, four RBI, and seven runs scored over those 12 games. Freeman has recorded two hits in four of his last six games. The Rockies went 5-7 during Freeman’s 12-game hitting streak. He has provided much-needed consistent offensive production for a mostly lifeless offense this season.
Jones has seen a repeat of last season to this point. He has been healthier, playing in 71 games so far after only appearing in 79 last season. But the production has not improved. In 180 at-bats, he has hit .211/.301/.317 with just three home runs and 20 RBI in 71 games. The biggest slide in Jones’ game since 2023 has been in the power department. He hit 20 home runs in 367 at-bats in 2023 with the Rockies. Per Statcast, Jones was in the 94th percentile in 2023 in both barrel rate and batting run value with a 15.7% barrel rate and 19 batting run value, respectively. This season, his batting run value has plummeted to -7, and his barrel rate is middle of the pack at 9.2%.
Jones will always be an excellent defender. He ranks in the top two percent league-wide with 97.0 mph arm strength and an arm value of three, per Statcast. But Jones is a different level of a player when he’s hitting home runs. Jones was second on the Rockies with 20 home runs and 20 steals in 106 games in 2023. Since then, he has a combined six home runs and nine stolen bases in 150 games over the last two seasons.
Rockies are Clear Winners So Far
The Rockies were criticized when they made this trade. Jones was part of one of the best defensive duos in Major League Baseball with center fielder Brenton Doyle. What did the rebuilding Rockies have to lose in giving Jones another chance to replicate his amazing 2023 after an injury-riddled 2024? Surely, Jones would now find that form with his old team and make the Rockies look clueless. But it appears that Colorado made the right call. The Rockies are often easy cannon fodder for the league to poke fun at. But they deserve their flowers when they make the right decision, too.
The Rockies have found a new weapon for an offense that sorely needs one. Freeman is just 26 years old and is making $775K on a one-year deal this season, per Spotrac. He is likely not a trade candidate, as he only has one home run to this point. Without the power element to his game, a contender might feel that it’s not worth the risk of Freeman continuing his solid offensive play outside of Coors Field. But the Rockies may have found a player to keep around as they continue their extended rebuild.
Jones is still a shell of his 2023 self. It remains to be seen if he will find that form again. But it is relatively low-risk and high-reward for the Guardians. Jones is also on a one-year deal worth $770K, per Spotrac. The Guardians could easily let Jones go without much penalty if he continues to struggle.
Tyler Freeman has emerged as a potential offensive gem for the Rockies. Meanwhile, Jones has not burned the Rockies for trading him. But Jones still has the runway to turn his season around. Wins are few and far between for the Rockies this season. At least they can have this one.
Main Photo Credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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