The Yankees continued making spring training roster cuts on Tuesday, most notably reassigning top prospect Spencer Jones to minor league camp.
The same move was made for fellow outfielder Brandon Lockridge and infielders Jeter Downs and Caleb Durbin. While these transactions are merely procedural — none of the four were expected to make the Yankees’ Opening Day roster — the announcement followed a stellar run for Jones.
While the 2022 first-round pick can still appear in spring training games, his time in big league camp ended with a .467/.556/1.289 slash line, six runs, seven hits, one home run and four RBI over 15 at-bats and eight games. The one home run came in Jones’ first at-bat of the spring and traveled a whopping 470 feet.
Spencer Jones hits one 470 feet!
The @Yankees No. 2 prospect hit a ball where very few land. #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/QQts34NofI
— MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2024
While the towering dinger grabbed attention, Jones also never swung and missed prior to the reassignment. That’s impressive on its own, but even more so when considering the 22-year-old struck out 155 times last year.
Jones, who doubled in Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to the Mets, spent the offseason tweaking his bat path and shortening his left-handed swing.
“Just doing some different patterns with the baseball bat,” Jones recently said. “Got some work in this offseason with the hitting coach who helped me out a lot. It was just putting things in context for me and phrasing them in ways I hadn’t really thought of before. It’s been beneficial to me so far, and I’m excited to see what progress we can make during the season.”
So far, the changes have paid off.
Jones will get a chance to implement them in real games at Double-A, where he is expected to begin the regular season. That’s according to Brian Cashman, who noted that Jones only played in 17 games for Somerset last year.
While Jones still has a few levels to conquer, reaching the majors this season is not impossible.
Jasson Domínguez, for example, enjoyed a strong spring before playing at Double-A and Triple-A last year. He parlayed that into a sensational cup of coffee in the majors last September. The Yankees’ disastrous season surely influenced The Martian’s expedited timeline, but he also showed an ability to hit major league pitching as a 20-year-old before tearing his UCL.
Jones noticed Domínguez’s fast-track, but he’s not trying to mimic his fellow center fielder’s path in 2024.
“Jasson’s an incredible player,” Jones said. “Everybody in the world is starting to figure that out now. But he had a really, really strong year last year.
“My plan is just to continue developing as I have been. Whatever happens this season happens.”
OUTFIELD ALIGNMENTS
During an in-game interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Aaron Boone said that he’s leaning toward keeping Juan Soto in right field, Aaron Judge in center and Alex Verdugo in left.
It would have made sense for Soto, a worse defender, and Verdugo to switch between corner spots depending on the ballpark. Houston and Boston, for example, have less ground to cover in left field. Meanwhile, right field is the easier position at Yankee Stadium.
Instead, it sounds like Boone may just keep everyone in place, though Trent Grisham is sure to get plenty of time in center with Judge expected to DH a bit more often. The Yankees are also hoping that a reshaped Giancarlo Stanton can be an occasional option in the corners.
AVOIDING VERLANDER
The Yankees won’t have to worry about Justin Verlander when they open their season in Houston.
Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that the future Hall of Famer will begin the season on the injured list, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Verlander is behind in his build-up after a shoulder issue delayed the start of his spring.
