The Tigers have signed infielder/outfielder Jahmai Jones to a minor league deal, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The ACES consumer will obtain an invitation to main league spring coaching and can make a wage of $810K if he cracks the massive league roster.
The 27-year-old Jones was as soon as a notable prospect however he hasn’t but had an prolonged huge league alternative, regardless of typically performing properly within the minors. He spent most of 2024 with the Yankees, although in a reasonably restricted function. They claimed him off waivers from the Brewers in February, however he had exhausted his possibility years and wanted to stay on the roster. The Yanks stored him round for over 4 months however solely gave him 47 plate appearances in that point. He was outrighted off the roster in early August.
Jones now has a poor .198/.257/.278 batting line in his huge league profession, although in 137 plate appearances scattered throughout 4 totally different seasons. After being outrighted by the Yanks, he produced a sturdy line of .304/.390/.490 in 34 Triple-A video games, resulting in a 131 wRC+. This provides him a line of .276/.408/.471 over 564 Triple-A plate appearances up to now two years.
He hasn’t been capable of convey that form of manufacturing to the majors but, however there’s no hurt in a minor league deal and he’s a wise man to take a shot on. He was a second-round decide of the Angels in 2015 and obtained some prime 100 prospect love within the years after that. Regardless of the various years which have transpired since then, he’s nonetheless pretty younger and has continued to place up good numbers on the farm.
He could be a high-quality match for nearly any membership on a minor league deal however he may very well be an particularly good match for the Tigers, since he’s a right-handed hitter who has largely performed second base and the outfield in his profession. The Tigers have a lefty swinger on the keystone in Colt Keith whereas their outfield combine consists of lefties Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows and Akil Baddoo. In addition they have Jace Jung more likely to be at third, Trey Sweeney at shortstop and Zach McKinstry in a utility function, every of these three additionally being left-handed.
Maybe there’s a path for Jones to function a right-handed complement to that group in a multi-positional function. If he ultimately cracks the roster, he’s out of choices however has lower than a yr of service time, which means he could be cheaply retained for future seasons as properly.
