The Cleveland Guardians made a rare in-division trade with the Chicago White Sox, centered around Nolan Jones.
Trades between two division rivals are rare, especially when they’re the top two teams in the standings. However, that didn’t stop the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox from pulling off an intriguing deal on Thursday evening.
The Guardians announced that they had traded outfielder Nolan Jones and cash considerations to the White Sox in exchange for $250,000 in international bonus pool money.
There are several layers to this intriguing trade for the Guardians.
First, this deal now marks the second time Cleveland has traded Nolan Jones during his career.
Cleveland initially parted ways with the outfielder after a short stint during the 2022 season, when they sent him to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Brito. After a successful rookie campaign in 2023 and an injury-filled season in 2024, the Guardians traded Tyler Freeman to re-acquire the former top prospect.
The Guardians were hoping that Jones could provide some much-needed power to the lineup, but that just never came to fruition. Despite maintaining a high exit velocity, Jones logged a .211/.296/.304 slash line with just five home runs during the 2025 season. He had a strikeout rate of 28 percent and a 27.9 percent whiff rate.
Even though Jones was a below-average hitter, the Guardians surprisingly decided to avoid arbitration and sign him to a $2 million contract for the 2026 season. Jones was outrighted to the Minor Leagues during Spring Training and has spent the entirety of the season at Triple-A so far, and has a .845 OPS with nine doubles and eight home runs.
Feb 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians outfielder Nolan Jones against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn ImagesRealistically, there wasn’t a pathway back to the big leagues for Jones. The Guardians have several other outfielders in the Minors that they’d like to give an opportunity to before Nolan, such as Kahlil Watson, Cooper Ingle, or another look at CJ Kayfus.
Still, Nolan is 28 years old and has time to turn his career around. It’s also hard to ignore that the last time the Guardians traded Jones, he immediately broke out for a 20-home run and 20-stolen base season with the Rockies.
Cleveland didn’t feel the effects of that breakout season too much since he was playing in the National League.
However, if Jones finds his footing away from the Guardians again, Cleveland’s front office could be kicking itself, considering he’s now with the team that’s at the top of the American League Central.
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