The Guardians and Rockies have reached a deal that despatched outfielder Nolan Jones to Cleveland in change for infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman, in line with a report from Thomas Harding of MLB.com. The deal has subsequently been introduced.
The deal represents a homecoming for Jones, who was a second-round decide by Cleveland in 2016 and made his MLB debut with the membership in 2022 earlier than being traded to Colorado in a deal that introduced again Juan Brito in November of that yr. Jones went on to complete fourth in NL Rookie of the 12 months voting that yr as he posted 3.8 fWAR/4.3 bWAR for the Rockies, slugging 20 homers and swiping 20 bases whereas splitting time between the outfield corners and first base. In all, Jones slashed .297/.389/.542 that season, which even within the inflated offensive surroundings Coors Discipline offers was good for a superb 137 wRC+. In the meantime, Brito has but to make his massive league debut for the Guardians however posted a powerful .256/.365/.443 line in 144 video games at Triple-A for the membership final yr.
As spectacular as Jones’s first yr in Colorado was, nonetheless, he suffered a major sophomore hunch in his second yr with the membership. Again points restricted him to only 79 video games, and when he was wholesome sufficient to take the sector he was ineffective with a lackluster .227/.321/.320 slash line. Whereas a downturn in manufacturing ought to have at all times been anticipated relative to his 2023 marketing campaign given Jones’s unbelievable .400 BABIP that yr, Jones’s misplaced energy manufacturing was one thing of a shock. After barreling up a whopping 15.7% of his batted balls in 2023, that quantity cratered to only 5.9% final yr regardless of his total charge of laborious hit batted balls rising from 40.9% to 44.4%. That got here primarily from an enormous spike in groundball charge, as Jones hit 52.7% of his batted balls on the bottom final yr, ten factors increased than the yr prior. That left him to membership simply three homers final yr and enter his age-27 marketing campaign with loads of questions on what his manufacturing would seem like this yr.
These questions will now be answered again in Cleveland, the place Jones now seems prone to have the chance to lock down the membership’s common proper discipline job, which thus far appeared prone to be crammed by Will Brennan. Jones provides extra confirmed upside than Brennan, 27, who posted roughly league common offensive numbers in a platoon function with the Guardians final yr. Brennan, in contrast to Jones, has choices remaining and might be despatched to Triple-A as depth for the approaching season. Ought to he substitute Brennan on the roster, Jones may share time in proper discipline with right-handed slugger Jhonkensy Noel if the Guardians need to spell him in opposition to left-handed pitchers, although Johnathan Rodriguez is another choice on the 40-man roster.
As for the Rockies, they’ll be parting with Jones to usher in Freeman, a flexible utility bat with the power to play high quality protection all around the diamond however minimal offensive potential. A profession 83 wRC+ hitter who slashed .209/.305/.321 (84 wRC+) in 118 video games with the Guardians final yr, Freeman spent nearly all of his time in heart discipline but additionally obtained transient seems to be at shortstop, third base, and second base all through the season. With Brenton Doyle locked in because the on a regular basis heart fielder in Colorado, it appears probably that Freeman will probably be tasked with a extra common return to the dust in 2025. Whereas a utility function off the bench could possibly be in Freeman’s future given the presence of Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop and Ryan McMahon at third base, an damage to Thairo Estrada earlier this week opened up common enjoying time on the keystone for a minimum of the beginning of the season. Provided that, it appears probably that Freeman will both function the Rockies’ common second baseman or break up time with veteran utility man Kyle Farmer on the place whereas Estrada recovers from the damaged wrist that figures to sideline him for 4 to eight weeks.
Freeman was projected to be a part of the Guardians’ bench combine come Opening Day, probably serving as a backup heart discipline choice behind Lane Thomas in addition to a possible platoon companion for both Brennan or Kyle Manzardo. It’s doable a extra common outfielder like Rodriguez or Angel Martinez could possibly be requested to tackle that function, however one doubtlessly intriguing candidate to hitch the membership’s roster can be Brito himself. Brito is generally an infielder with the overwhelming majority of his time within the minors spent at second base, however he obtained a glance in proper discipline final yr and could possibly be an intriguing addition to the membership’s bench combine so long as they imagine in Lane Thomas as a professional on a regular basis choice in heart discipline.
