Colorado rocks spring training with Nolan Jones trade: Here's the fallout

There’s always plenty of surprises in spring training. The Colorado Rockies made one of those big surprises on Saturday night.

The Rockies traded projected starting outfielder Nolan Jones to the Cleveland Guardians for infielder Tyler Freeman.

The move was interesting for several reasons.

First, it is a bit surprising that the Rockies were willing to part with Jones, who finished fourth in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting when he hit 20 homers in 2023. Jones slumped in Colorado last season in just 79 games, but, he was playing well in spring training, and his speed and power made him a left field lock for the Rockies. 

Or so it seemed. 

Instead, Jones being traded likely means that the Rockies were not willing to give up on Jordan Beck, who had been struggling mightily for much of spring, but has come on strong as of late. 

Jones’ departure also opens up the possibility of the Rockies making room for star prospect Zac Veen. Veen is the No. 4 prospect in the organization and has been steady all spring. Veen is a center fielder by nature, but can certainly play every position in the outfield, and his bat has improved greatly over the last two months. Veen and Sam Hilliard together would also give the Rockies a ton of depth in the outfield, and Veen would also be the main candidate to spell Brenton Doyle in center.

Jones being traded could also mean the Rockies fully intend to play Kris Bryant a lot this season. Bryant is as healthy as he’s been in two years, but in spring training, he’s primarily been a DH. However, Jones’ departure could leave right field wide open for him to play at least several days a week.

All of the above are just possibilities, but, we’ll have to wait and see what Bud Black ultimately decides.

The second part of the trade is Freeman. To give up a starter like Jones to get a utility player means the Rockies are more concerned then it looked about the Thairo Estrada injury. 

With Kyle Farmer expected to play second base for most of the time Estrada is out, the trade indicates the Rockies not only felt they needed another infielder, but, that they weren’t sold on backups like Adam Schunk or Owen Miller.

The trade also is yet another exclamation point on the fact that the Rockies are just not willing to bring up 21-year-old Adeal Amador, no matter how talented he is, or how well he’s played this spring.

Of course, much of that is speculation, but, the fact is, the Rockies just traded away a starting outfielder six days before Opening Day 2025, and time will tell if it was the right move or not.