Opening Day is just around the corner and the Cleveland Guardians will officially start their journey to repeat as AL Central champions and hopefully, surpass last season’s ALCS trip and reach a World Series.
Cleveland had a relatively quiet offseason and mostly made ancillary moves to improve the roster, but one analyst raved about their surprising recent trade.
Cleveland traded Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies for former All-Star outfielder Nolan Jones just days ago, and Adam The Bull of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show said on a recent episode that he loves the deal.
“I absolutely love this trade of Tyler Freeman for Nolan Jones because I think the upside on Nolan Jones, in my opinion, is way higher than Tyler Freeman. I think every time you make a trade with the Rockies, you usually win. They are probably the worst organization in all of baseball.”
.@adamthebull says he absolutely loves the trade that the #Guardians made for Nolan Jones. Bull says Jones has an "All-Star" upside. https://t.co/BSgFUcDpC7 pic.twitter.com/Xs0B2FR91y
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) March 24, 2025
Tough video to watch if you’re a Rockies fan.
It’s a coincidental full-circle moment for Jones, who made his debut for the Guardians in 2022 before being traded to the Rockies, so there’s plenty of familiarity and continuity for the Guardians with this trade.
They know what they’re getting, and that will hopefully be 2023’s Nolan Jones, who posted a stellar .931 OPS in 106 games and finished fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
He has All-Star potential and is just a little over a month shy of his 27th birthday, while Freeman has a .632 career OPS and hasn’t shown he can ever come close to the offensive output Jones has proven capable of.
Many fans were frustrated with the lack of moves this offseason to upgrade an offense that let the team down in the playoffs, but this is a sneaky good move that could pay huge dividends if Jones can put his injury-filled 2024 behind him.
NEXT: Guardians Outfielder's Roster Spot In Jeopardy After Nolan Jones Trade
