Infielder Jahmai Jones has opted out of minor league deal with the Dodgers and been released by the club, according to Oklahoma City Dodgers communications director Alex Freedman on Twitter.
Jones, 25, was a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport back in 2018, though he fell off prospect lists after struggling to a .176/.228/.216 slash line over his first 79 plate appearances at the big league level. Originally drafted by the Angels in the second round of the 2015 draft, Jones made a brief debut with the club during the shortened 2020 campaign before he was swapped to Baltimore in the trade that sent Alex Cobb to Anaheim. He struggled in a cup of coffee with the Orioles during 2021 before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2022, a procedure that was shortly followed by the Orioles designating Jones for assignment.
Jones then latched on with the Dodgers on a two-year minor league deal in August, a move that allowed the young infielder to rehab with the club and gave LA a former top prospect who could serve as infield depth at the Triple-A level in 2023. Following his return to professional games, Jones posted excellent numbers in 62 games at the Triple-A level this season. He slashed .292/.427/.524 with a 17.5% walk rate against a 20.9% strikeout rate, production good for a well above average 134 wRC+ even in the heightened offensive environment of Triple-A’s Pacific Coast League.
Despite that performance from Jones and a need in the infield at various points this season, the Dodgers have opted to give youngsters like Miguel Vargas, Michael Busch, and Yonny Hernandez looks on the club’s roster rather than clear space on the 40-man roster for Jones. Given this, it’s hardly a surprise Jones decided to exercise his opt-out clause and test free agency.
Going forward, Jones seems likely to attract considerable interest given his strong 2023 numbers, youth, and former top prospect status. Jones has almost exclusively played second base to this point in the season, but also has experience at third base and in all three outfield spots throughout his minor league career, meaning he could serve as useful position player depth for virtually any club at the Triple-A level.
This doood used to be a top 20 prospect in MLB now he’s opting out of minor league deals in July.
He was a Top 100 prospect. Never got near Top 20.
Sorry I saw no response 18 and thought it was mlb ranking but it was orioles rankings regardless he had a lot of hype coming up.
I personally appreciate the guys who can say my bad. Way to be a good person.
This opt-out date thing has really progressed a lot. I fully get it for veterans or guys who are at, or even close to the cusp of playing in the majors or someone somewhere. But what has Jahmai Jones done to get himself an opt-out date? What leverage did he have to get this out of the club?
I have zero idea of the contract terms but it’s usually lower dollars (even as a very unproven MLBer) and extended contract for additional opt outs or trade protection.
& the club got til July 1. That’s a pretty long evaluation period.
This is why I laugh when fans from any team say they are not trading away this top prospect for a proven major league player. that could help their team right away. Here is an example… Brewers trade away their top prospect Brinson Lewis in order to get Christian Yelich. Some people thought the Brewers were crazy to trade Brinson who ranked 16, 18, and 27 by MLB.com when he was in the minors before being called up. Guess what, his best year with the Marlins was a .226 batting average. This was from 2018-2022, Now he is back in the minors again. Anytime you can get a proven MLB player for a prospect, I say jump on it. Yes, it can come back to bite a team once and awhile. The prospect can be a complete stud, and under team control for several years. However, what I have seen over the years is that most high ranking prospects are a bust. Better to trade them for a proven player that is in the Majors already. The problem with this idea, is that small market teams need to keep prospects in order to complete. So even though my theory is good on paper, it is not the way to go for all teams. Especially small market teams that need to keep their payroll low in order to survive. My point is however, that trading away most high level prospects for proven major league players is probably the best action that most teams should do if they are competing for a division crown or a possible wildcard spot. It will be fun to see which high level prospects get traded before this trade deadline happens.
Bro, we k ow you have a TON to say, but no one is reading your book
@painterman360 laziness?
No. It’s a book about a fact on a rumor page.
Always laugh when people resort to “no one is…” or “who would…” type of comments.
If you’re going to rudely say 1 paragraph is too long for you to read, take ownership of your insolence and don’t depend on an appeal to the masses to validate your viewpoint.
Lol exactly like wtf was that rambling nonsense
🙁
Clif you have a valid point
Good point Clif. But it is a long post for our short attention spans. Maybe post the cliff notes version next time.
Right on Clif. I’ll admit I find myself doing it when my team’s farm is rated high and I go to ST to watch them but in the end the goal is to improve the mlb team and not win the milb title or best farm title. Yeah the receiving team gets 5+ years sometimes to find out if they got a gem but the odds are not high in the overall.
Yes, this is part of my issue also I will follow these prospects from when they’re signed or drafted, game by game, season by season, and so I feel like the guys that have made it through the MiLs successfully somewhat deserve their shot at the big league level, instead of being traded and replaced by someone outside the organization.. lol
However, I also realize that square pegs don’t fit into round holes, and at times your best prospect is blocked, or he can’t fill the hole you have at SS. So, it only makes sense to make a trade.
I guess from a fan perspective sometimes it just sucks to feel “somewhat invested” in these prospects careers for three to four years only to have them traded away before they’re able to debut..
Then again, as the old saying goes in order to get, you have to give..Or something like that lol…
Couple of notes here. It’s Lewis Brinson, not Brinson Lewis. Also, Brinson is not in fact in the minor leagues. He is playing in the NPB in Japan. How do I know this? I watched the Hanshin Tigers battle the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome yesterday on the last leg of my Asia tour (I’m from Los Angeles). Brinson is doing better stats-wise in Japan than in the US (.574 OPS) but his .657 OPS isn’t exactly tearing up the league.
As for always trading prospects to get a proven major leaguer? Perhaps sometimes, but that is such a broad generalization as to render that statement false especially when you factor in cost considerations.
Sorry if my article got a little long. My undergrad degree was Broadcast Journalism and I try to cover all the points. I was also once a Sports Director at a radio station. On one of my sports talk shows I would have covered all of these points. Maybe a blog is the place to get all my points across.
If you see one of my long posts again, you can just skip it and not read it if it is too long for you. I don’t mind positive or negative comments, and I don’t pretend to know everything. It is just my opinion of how fans sometimes view prospects as untouchable in a trade. If it is the right player, no prospect should be untouchable in my opinion!
Mariners please? Anything please?
I don’t blame him. Who wants to be part of that sinking dumpster fire of a franchise?
Off to the Yankees.
Sounds like Harris Material to me.
Tigers should grab him and plug him in. I always liked him and we need IF’ers who can play. He’s still a prospect with decent stats and could develop. Cut bait on Schoop and Nevin and let him play for the rest of the year
Meanwhile, the current Dodger 2nd baseman, Miguel Vargas, is mired in a 3 – 43 slump with very little solid contact. The kids only 23. At this point, are they damaging his confidence?