Baltimore Orioles Rumors: Possible Destinations for Adam Jones
After months of Baltimore Orioles rumors before moving Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Baltimore Orioles are now most likely going to move their other players who are set to become free agents following this season.
In an article by Jon Meoli with the Baltimore Sun, Orioles General Manager, Dan Duquette acknowledged that a rebuild is now underway following the Manny Machado trade.
“When you finally decide to go in another direction and set sail in another direction, it’s difficult to get to that point where you say, ‘OK, we’re not going to be trying to win today. We’re going to try and put together the best talent that we can to win tomorrow.’ ” Duquette said. “That’s a very tough decision to make. All professional organizations have to make it, but we’ve recognized it. This is the first step in a new direction. We acknowledged it, and traded Manny to start our work in a new direction, to look to the future.”
As Adam Jones will be a free agent following this season, his departure to a contender should be expected prior to the trade deadline.
Jones has spent 11 seasons with the Orioles. He has compiled 297 doubles, 27 triples, and 258 home runs during his time in Baltimore. He has also earned 5 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Glove awards, and 1 Silver Slugger award.
Jones recently spoke with the Baltimore Sun about the possibility of being traded and being mentioned in Baltimore Orioles Rumors.
“It doesn’t bother me, man,” Jones said. “I can’t let it bother me. I’m in a different part of my life to where I’m not anticipating a $150 million, $200 million, $300 million offer this offseason. I’m more just, ‘Let me go be a pro, do what I do best,’ and that’s play the game hard and live with the result. All the other stuff, all the projections and this and that, that’s all whatever. I do know that we’ve seen over the last few years, as you get older, they value you less and less and less. What I’m trying to do is maintain my value and continue the path that I’ve been on of consistency and performing year-in and year-out. I’m just basically doing me, and not worrying about everybody else.”
Jones also has the option to veto any trade as he owns 10-5 rights. According to MLB.com, a player can veto any trade scenario if they have accrued 10 years of MLB service time and if they have spent the past 5 consecutive years with the same team.
He went into the season with a $17 million salary, so teams looking to acquire him may not have to give up a lot in prospects if they are taking on the prorated remainder of his salary.
There is no doubt that Jones is a phenomenal player who would also bring leadership to his new team, so he will have plenty of suitors.
Let’s take a look at a few possible destinations for Adam Jones.
The Seattle Mariners could use some help in the outfield and their former first round draft pick may be the perfect option.
Adam Jones was drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft by the Mariners. After parts of two seasons at the MLB level in Seattle, he was moved to the Orioles in a trade for Erik Bedard in 2008. As Bedard did not perform as expected, this trade was a big win O’s.
According to FanGraphs, the Mariners are currently 26th in the MLB with a .339 slugging percentage from their center fielders this season. Jones owns a career .458 slugging percentage. This season, he owns a .423 slugging percentage.
The Mariners are currently in a position to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2001. If the season ended today, they would face the New York Yankees in the one-game WIld Card playoff. Jones would give the Mariners a player that has experience in one-game playoffs.
In 2012, he faced the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card game and in 2016, he faced the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card game. Overall, Jones has 14 games of experience in the playoffs.
As a lot of the Mariners players do not have experience in the playoffs, Jones could bring valuable leadership to the clubhouse as Seattle has their sights set on the postseason.
It would also be a nice moment to see Jones play in the playoffs on the team in which he made his major league debut.
The Cleveland Indians are rumored to be looking into additional outfield assistance. Jones would also fit perfectly in “the Land.”
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the Indians have interest in acquiring Adam Jones from the Orioles.
Similar to the Mariners, the Indians also have a lack of output in center field in the slugging percentage category. Cleveland ranks 28th in the MLB with a .320 slugging percentage.
From their center fielders, they have received 7 home runs and 43 runs batted in on the season. Jones has 10 home runs and 37 runs batted in this year on his own.
As the Orioles are 29th in the MLB in runs scored at 360, Jones has great production considering the lack of talent around him. The Indians are 4th in the MLB in runs scored at 512, so Jones would have plenty of opportunities to put up larger numbers in Cleveland.
The Indians only trail the Yankees in home runs this season. The Yankees have 162 home runs while the Indians have 139. According to baseball-reference, Jones averages 26 home runs per 162 games, so he would fit right in with the rest of the Indians sluggers.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a solid outfield, but Jones would be a great reinforcement piece for this team. The NL West is headed for a showdown with four teams bunched up at the top of the division.
Arizona currently has an outfield contingent of David Peralta, A.J. Pollock, Chris Owings, Jarrod Dyson, Jon Jay, and Steven Souza Jr. However, there are some question marks with this group.
Although Jones is a center fielder, the Diamondbacks could use him in right field. The Diamondbacks rank last in the MLB with a .283 slugging percentage from their right fielders. After acquiring Souza Jr. over the offseason, this is not at all what they were expecting.
The Diamondbacks currently have a .199 batting average and a .279 on-base percentage from their right fielders as well. Souza Jr. is starting to produce at a better rate than these numbers since his return from the disabled list on July 5th. Since that time, he holds a .267 batting average, a .353 on-base percentage, and a .467 slugging percentage.
Even if Souza Jr. is able to keep up this production for the rest of the season, he has been battling injuries all season. Peralta and Pollock have missed considerable time due to injuries in their careers. Dyson is also currently on the disabled list.
Although Owings plays primarily in the outfield, he can be a utility piece for the team as he has MLB experience at shortstop, second base, and third base as well.
The Orioles already have trade history with the NL West this season by moving Machado to the Dodgers. As the Diamondbacks are in a battle with the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants, they may be looking for a counter move to put them over the top.
Adam Jones could be that counter move to improve their offense the remainder of the way this season.
Next: Giants: three possible trade candidates
So where do you see the Baltimore Orioles rumors on Adam Jones finishing up? Will he land with one of the three mentioned here or somewhere not listed? Comment below!!