Nolan Jones is moving on from the Seattle Mariners. After a year spent entirely in Triple-A and a late-season arrival as extra outfield depth, the 28-year-old has elected free agency rather than remain in the Mariners’ minor-league system, via the MiLB transaction log.
Jones never reached the majors in 2026. Cleveland outrighted him off the 40-man roster in March after a rough 2025 and a quiet spring.
He accepted that assignment, then was traded twice: first to the White Sox in June for international bonus-pool space, then to Seattle on Aug. 1 as part of the package that sent Luis Castillo to Chicago.
The Mariners also received reliever Seranthony Domínguez and catching prospect Boston Smith. Jones reported to Triple-A Tacoma and stayed there.
Across Columbus, Charlotte, and Tacoma, he produced a respectable Triple-A line: .253 with 19 home runs, 80 RBI, and 15 stolen bases in 438 at-bats, with an OPS near .800. That is useful organizational depth.
It was not enough to force a September call-up on a Mariners club that finished 76-86 and is now overhauling its coaching staff.
The résumé still has a peak. Drafted by Cleveland in the second round in 2016, Jones broke out with Colorado in 2023: .297/.389/.542, 20 homers, and 20 steals in 106 games. Back trouble and a sharp drop in production followed. In 2024 and 2025 combined he hit .218/.307/.311 over 700 major-league plate appearances. Career MLB numbers sit at .247 with 30 homers and 33 steals in 349 games.
Electing free agency is the logical next step. Jones is not on Seattle’s 40-man roster. He has already been outrighted once this year.
Staying would mean another winter as minor-league insurance behind Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena, and the rest of a crowded outfield picture.
Testing the market gives him a chance at a major-league camp invite, a spring competition, or a short-term deal with a club that needs left-handed outfield depth.
For the Mariners, the loss is modest. Jones was a throw-in in a pitching trade, not a cornerstone. Seattle is entering a reset after missing the postseason and parting with manager Dan Wilson.
The club will look for cheaper, younger, or more certain production rather than recycle a 28-year-old whose best year already looks like an outlier.
Jones still has tools: size, a patient approach, power against right-handers, and enough speed to steal a base. Somewhere this winter, a team will bet that the 2023 version is not fully gone. Seattle will not be that team.
After three organizations in one season, Jones is a free agent again — and looking for a clearer path back to the majors.
