Cleveland Guardians Executive Breaks Down Nolan Jones Trade

Cleveland Guardians General Manager Mike Chernoff said the Nolan Jones trade "was an opportunity we had to take advantage of."

Tommy Wild | Mar 24, 2025

Jul 26, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Nolan Jones (33) hits a three run home run against the Boston Red Sox in the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

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Cleveland Guardians

The Cleveland Guardians' front office isn't a group that makes impulsive decisions.

Each of their transactions is typically part of a bigger picture or vision for the MLB team to be better right now and in the future.

One of the most recent savvy moves the team made was trading Tyler Freeman to the Colorado Rockies to bring Nolan Jones back into the organization.

Mike Chernoff, Guardians general manager, said that the trade came together "unexpectedly over the past 48 hours."

"We obviously know Nolan really well from his time here, drafting him and having him come up all the way to the major leagues in 2022. So, we had a great feel for the player, which probably allowed us to act a little bit more quickly than we typically would," said Chernoff.

"We felt like it was an opportunity to add a left-handed impact type bat, or the potential to have that type of impact, into our outfield mix, which we felt like we really needed."

Nolan Jones (33) fist-bumps third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) after scoring a run

Jul 27, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Guardians third baseman Nolan Jones (33) fist-bumps third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) after scoring a run against the Boston Red Sox during the fourth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Chernoff echoed Stephen Vogt's feelings about how hard it is to trade a player of Freeman's hard work and possible impact, but as the GM said, "This was an opportunity we had to take advantage of."

The Guardians wouldn't have made a trade like this if they didn't intend to give Jones a fair share of at-bats. Chernoff said that the front office recognizes that Jones is out of options, which could impact other members of the roster, specifically Will Brennan.

With this in mind, the Guardians still have some tough decisions to make with the roster before Opening Day.

There are certainly some risks associated with trading for a player such as Jones and moving on from a player such as Freeman, but Chernoff noted, "Our goal is to win a championship. We thought that this move had a chance to make us better this year and into the future."

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