The Rockies and Guardians decided to swap some young talent just days before Opening Day.
Cleveland sent off middle infielder Tyler Freeman to Colorado in exchange for left fielder Nolan Jones in a trade on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Freeman, 25, is entering his fourth season in the MLB, having previously spent his entire professional career with the Guardians.
Since being drafted in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Freeman has shown little success at the big-league level, posting a slash line of .223/.304/.329 in 206 career games.
Freeman has been showing promise in spring training however, batting .308 with two home runs in 15 games thus far.
The California native is projected to second base for the Rockies as recent free agency signing Thairo Estrada, a former Yankee, is out 4-to-8 weeks with a fractured wrist.
Jones, 26, was drafted by the Guardians in 2017 and got his first taste of the majors playing 28 games with Cleveland in 2022 before being sent to the Rockies following that season.
The former second-round pick had a breakout season with the Rockies in 2023, batting just under .300 with 20 home runs through 106 games.
Jones followed that season with a 2024 campaign plagued with knee issues causing him to miss a significant amount of time, along with a sharp dip in offensive production, batting just .227 with three home runs in 79 games.
