Rockies Offseason Acquisition Has Been Enormously Efficient at the Plate This Year

The Colorado Rockies made a small-scale trade in March of this year, and it has turned out rather well when it comes to their return value.

May 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Colorado Rockies second base Tyler Freeman (2) hits a single during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. / Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies have had a rough go of things this year to put it lightly.

They currently sit at the bottom of the MLB record-wise, but have at least found some momentum in a small resurgence of sorts.

This has provided some excitement and hope for the future as they continue to build around some of their younger talent and find an identity for themselves.

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Home runs have been a key for the Rockies in this recent success, however, one of the more intriguing parts of their season has been the utility man acquisition they made this March who only has one longball of his own this year.

In a late offseason move between Colorado and the Cleveland Guardians, the former sent Nolan Jones to the latter in return for Tyler Freeman.

Neither player has produced at an exceptional level in their MLB careers prior to this deal, but this year, Freeman has found one key to success: his efficiency.

While the sample size for him is still rather small compared to some of the regular everyday starters, Freeman has found a decent chunk of time at the plate and is making the most of it.

His bWAR may indicate a less-than-optimal season at minus-0.1, his production at the plate has been anything other than suboptimal.

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In 35 games played, Freeman is slashing .310/.406/.437 with 15 runs, eight RBI, 38 total bases, one home run, six stolen bases and 10 walks to eight strikeouts.

The clear and obvious deficiency in his game is a lack of playing time, with his production predominantly being in the efficiency stats but not so much in the counting stats.

With Thairo Estrada ahead of him on the depth chart at second base and Ryan McMahon at third, Freeman has mostly been utilized either in the outfield or at designated hitter.

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As a true utility man, he has played at almost every position on the field, so he can be effective in any role that he's thrust into by the Rockies.

The efficiency in his hitting is extremely interesting, though, as he currently leads the team in batting average and on-base percentage while being third in OPS and sixth in slugging percentage.

This type of production at only 26 years old is impressive, and if he continues to get more time at the plate throughout the season, it will be interesting to see what he is able to do in a larger sample size.

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