For one glorious, 36-game stretch after he started calming his hands by laying the bat on his shoulder in his set-up, he hit .320 with a .960 OPS. “I have a few years under my belt now and I know what I can do,” Jones said. “That month, month and a half, really helped me out so much, showing me that.”
Still, the sample size seems insufficient. He understands that. He knows that while he’s penciled in as the starting center fielder, he’s coming to camp with a clean slate. Which is why he’s been working so hard this offseason. “I’ve been full-go for a quite a while now, just conditioning and hitting,” he said. “Trying to get my body in shape for next month. The wrist isn’t bothering me at all. It’s not restraining me. It’s just like it was before I got hurt.” Hitting will always be the x-factor for Jones. What needs to be constant for him to keep his starting role, though, is his defensive play in center field. And, again, what do we make of his numbers in an 88-game season? In 2018, he led baseball with 21 defensive runs saved — the majority of those coming when he played left field alongside Leonys Martin. Last year, playing exclusively in center field, he ranked near the bottom of the league with minus-13 defensive runs saved.
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