Greg

Jones

Just one day after hitting his first major league home run against the Dodgers, Jones is shipped back to Albuquerque as Sean Bouchard (ankle) returns from the injured list. The versatile 26-year-old went 1-for-5 (.200) with a solo homer and four strikeouts in six plate appearances during his short stay with the Rockies.

Jones, a longtime Rays prospect, took fellow former Rays pitcher JP Feyereisen deep tonight. It’s Jones’ first hit in five at-bats since his callup 11 days ago. The Rockies, who are suffering for their utter inability to manage a 40-man roster, have given Jones just one start since calling him up from Triple-A. All indications are that he’ll head back to the minors in the near future, but it still might make sense for Colorado to give him some at-bats in the meantime.

Jones was acquired this spring from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for LHP Joe Rock. The 26-year-old remains a speed-first player with a .240/.360/.387 in 20 games at Triple-A this season with 15 steals. He is sporting a career-high 12.4 percent walk rate, which would be a positive development given his wheels. It remains unclear how much he’ll play in Colorado, and he doesn’t offer much other than stolen base upside. Jones is taking Sean Bouchard’s spot on the active roster, and when he gets into a game, it will be his MLB debut.

Jones spent time at the Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham last season in the Rays’ system. The versatile 26-year-old posted an .811 OPS across 169 at-bats at the Triple-A level. Best known for his speed, Jones racked up 24 steals across both minor-league levels and posted 34 or more steals in the minors during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He’ll have more opportunity for playing time in the majors with Colorado than he did with Tampa Bay, especially if he continues playing the outfield.

It’s now official that one of the top fantasy prospects in baseball will open the season in the minors. In nine spring games, the 20-year-old went 7-for-26 (.269) with one homer and four RBI. It was reported earlier in February that the team was unlikely to have Caminero on the Opening Day roster due to his inexperience at the professional level. We’ll see if the team decides to play him at shortstop or third base given the Amed Rosario signing this offseason, but expect the young prospect to be called up if there is an injury on that side of the infield. The other notable name here is Carson Williams, who has some diverging opinions from scouts and evaluations, but is generally viewed as one of the most promising middle infield prospects in the game entering this season.

The Rays were decimated by injuries during the 2023 season — especially in their starting rotation with McClanahan, Springs, Baz and Rasmussen all suffering major injuries. McClanahan underwent his Tommy John surgery in late August and is expected to miss the entire 2024 season while recovering.

The procedural move frees up a spot on Tampa Bay’s 40-man roster for the club to promote infield prospect Tristan Gray ahead of Saturday’s game against the Orioles.

The 24-year-old first-round selection from the 2019 MLB Draft has played shortstop almost exclusively to this point in his professional career, but has also been working in the outfield during spring training in preparation for what could be a versatile utility role with the big league club. Expect to see him with the big league club at some point during the 2023 season.

Rays manager Kevin Cash noted the presence of Wander Franco at shortstop and the club’s desire for additional defensive versatility as the main reasons for the decision. The 24-year-old first-round selection from the 2019 MLB Draft has played shortstop almost exclusively to this point in his professional career, but has the speed necessary to transition to the outfield.

The 24-year-old shortstop saw his offensive production fall off at Double-A Montgomery in 2022 -- slashing an uninspiring .238/.318/.392 with eight homers, 40 RBI and 37 stolen bases over 358 plate appearances in 79 games. He’s now safely on the club’s 40-man roster and protected from the Rule 5 draft.