The Guardians on March 22 traded utility player Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies for outfielder/first baseman Nolan Jones. Jones, 26, was drafted by the Indians in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Holy Ghost Prep School in Philadelphia. He finally made his debut with the Guardians on J uly 8, 2022. He played in only 28 games that season and batted .244 with two home runs and 13 RBI. Josh Naylor was established as the Guardians first baseman by 2022, so president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti traded Jones to the Rockies for infielder Juan Brito in December 2022. Brito competed for the second baseman’s job with the Guardians this spring until he was optioned to Triple-A Columbus. “We continue to believe that Nolan is going to go on and be a really productive major-league player,” Antonetti said when the trade for Brito was made. “However, as we started to look at our roster composition for next year of where there may be opportunities for Nolan, maybe his path was a little bit less clear at this point.” The Guardians’ outfield in 2022 had Steven Kwan in left and Myles Straw in center. Oscar Gonzalez showed promise in right field, so there no openings in the outfield for Jones. but Straw and Gonzalez regressed in 2023. Neither player was on the opening day roster in 2024. Jones was still considered a rookie in 2023 in his first year with the Rockies. He hit 20 home runs, drove in 62 runs, stole 20 bases and batted .297. Last season did not go as well. A lower back injury limited him to 79 games. He hit .227 with three home runs and 28 RBI. Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo are projected to play first base for the Guardians this season. Nolan, who bats left-handed, might see playing time as a platoon player in the outfield in 2025. Jones batted .234 with the Rockies in spring training this year. He had no home runs and seven RBI in 44 at-bats. He is out of minor league options, which means he will be exposed to waivers if he doesn’t make the 26-man roster. Freeman was a valuable part of the 2024 AL Central championship team because of his defensive versatility even though he hit only .209. He played center field, second base, third base and shortstop for the Guardians last season. Freeman was a candidate to play second base this year. With Brito in  Columbus, the second base job belongs to Gabriel Arias. ...read more read less