The Cleveland Guardians took two out of three in their season-opening series with the Kansas City Royals to start the season out on a strong note.
Expectations for the year got a tad higher just before the season started after the Guardians made a surprising trade, sending Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Nolan Jones, and one former player had plenty of thoughts on this trade recently.
On a recent episode of the “Carlos Baerga Show,” Baerga said he liked the trade and believes that if Jones can put up the numbers he had two years ago, or even get close to them, it will be a huge pickup.
“If he comes back and puts up the numbers that he put up his first year in Colorado, over 20 homers, 62 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, hit .297. If he gets closer, a little bit closer to that, I think it’s going to be really good.”
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Jones is 1-for-7 with a double and two walks through two games played, and if he can carve out more consistent at-bats for himself in this outfield, it’s not unreasonable for him to get close to the numbers Baerga mentioned as long as he stays healthy.
Jones took a big step back last season in Colorado, hitting just .227 with three home runs in 79 games and an OPS that dropped from 2023’s high of .931 down to .641 in 2024.
He did have a bad year in 2024 largely due to injuries, but it was still surprising that the Rockies were willing to move him at 26 years old for Freeman, who has a career .632 OPS.
With Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas, and Jhonkensy Noel in the outfield, Jones doesn’t have an obvious path to an everyday role, but if he hits close to the tune of the .931 OPS he posted in 2023, the Guardians will find plenty of at-bats for him.
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