Guardians' weirdest offseason trade is suddenly paying off for both teams

At the end of spring training, the Guardians linked up with the Rockies for one of the weirder trades in recent memory that sent Tyler Freeman to Colorado in exchange for Nolan Jones.

Although Freeman was a bit redundant on the Guardians' roster, it seemed like Cleveland was planning on breaking camp with him as one of the utility options on the bench. Instead, the Guardians shipped him off to Colorado in return for Jones, a former Cleveland farmhand who came up with Freeman.

And while it's taken some time for both players to settle into their new clubs, it's a trade that's looking like a win for both sides.

Guardians' weirdest offseason trade is suddenly paying off for both teams

Entering playing on Tuesday, Freeman's hit .390 across his last 14 games with one triple, one home run, three stolen bases and six walks. He's upped his batting average on the season from .238 to .300.

On the other side, Jones has slashed .389/.463/.566 for the Guardians across his last 15 games with one double, one triple, one home run and eight RBI. While that production hasn't resulted in a ton of success for the Guardians, it's still a great sign to see for the considering how his season started.

Jones was hitting just .196 in the 20 games prior to going on that hot streak.

After coming up as an infielder in Cleveland' system, Freeman learned the outfield in 2023 and shifted into more of a complete utility role as opposed to just a utility infielders. He was a serviceable player for the Guardians (.223 average in 206 games with Cleveland) but always seemed to find a way to make an impression in the field.

But the Guardians elected to go with Daniel Schneeman and Gabriel Arias as their Opening Day utility options this year, which made Freeman expendable. And, despite Freeman having a minor league option left, the Guardians elected to send him to Colorado for Jones.

That acquisition of Jones set off another chain of events, as Cleveland sent Will Brennan down to Triple-A to make room for Jones, who slotted into a platoon with the powerful Jhonkensy Noel.

We all know how that went.

And while Guardians right fielders have combined for an MLB-low wRC+ of 51, they've had a much better wRC+ in June (97), which is coincides with the time that Jones started his hot streak.

An outfield consisting of Steven Kwan, Lane Thomas and Nolan Jones is a quality outfield on paper; they just haven't been able to turn that into consistent on-field production this year.

And while the Rockies are on pace to be one of the worst teams in MLB history, it's still exciting to see Freeman find his footing.

He's made appearances in the outfield, second base, third base and designated hitter, which has showcased the value he can bring to a roster.

Last month, this trade looked like it was going to be a loss to both sides. Now, it's beginning to look like a surprising win.