ORGANIZATION REPORT
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
With one trade on Feb. 2, the Orioles satisfied their need for infield depth and moved a veteran starting pitcher who didn’t fit in their rebuild plans.
The Orioles acquired 23-year-old Jahmai Jones from the Angels for Alex Cobb, agreeing to absorb most of the $15 million remaining on the veteran’s contract.
Jones, a 2015 second-rounder from Wesleyan High in Norcross, Ga., at one point ranked as a Top 100 Prospect.
An infielder-turned-outfielder in high school, the 6-foot, 204-pound Jones made the switch back to second base in 2018. He hasn’t played shortstop or third base professionally, but the Orioles could allow him to compete for a utility job in camp, while making Freddy Galvis the starting shortstop and Yolmer Sanchez the primary second baseman.
Otherwise, Jones, whose father was former Notre Dame and NFL linebacker Andre Jones, could play second base at Triple-A Norfolk after making his big league debut in September and going 3-for-7.
The Angels gave Jones a $1.1 million signing bonus after he committed to North Carolina. He’s a career.258/.338/.386 hitter in the minors and grades highly for his speed, versatility and plate discipline.
He was the Angels organization’s minor league player of the year in 2017 after he batted.282/.348/.446 with 29 doubles, seven triples, 14 home runs and 27 stolen bases in a combined 127 games between the Class A levels.
There was slippage in 2018, with Jones slashing a combined.239/.337/.380 in 123 games between High-A Inland Empire and Double-A Mobile. He stayed with Mobile the following summer and hit.234/.308/.324 in 544 plate appearances, but really drew notice in the AFL, when he hit.302/.377/.509.
Now, he’ll have a chance to make a big league Opening Day roster.
“I know he’s hungry,” said Brian Krehmeyer, Jones’ coach at Wesleyan High. “He wants to break camp with the big league club, he wants to be in contention for a starting position.”
—ROCH KUBATKO
BOSTON RED SOX
For most prospects, the coronavirus pandemic-derailed season created concerns about the potential drag on their development. For Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas, the opposite may have occurred.
The 21-year-old first baseman was ticketed for High-A to open the 2020 season, but the cancellation of the minor league season led the Red Sox to invite Casas to their alternate training site, giving him an opportunity to face Triple-A and big league pitchers and to pick the brains of hitters with similar experience levels.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound, lefthanded hitter became a sponge.
“He’s mature beyond his years and has physical ability and strength that continue to grow and develop,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham said. “The work ethic, the desire, the passion for the game, the willingness to improve is there. The sky is the limit for him.”
Casas grew up emulating Joey Votto, and has always prided himself on having a sound overall approach at the plate. But while he
