Jones continues strong bid to crack Tigers roster

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The more Jahmai Jones plays -- and he has played a lot for the Tigers in this Spring Training -- the more the non-roster invite looks like he has been on the team and in its culture for years.

After leading off the Tigers’ first inning Sunday with a first-pitch single off veteran lefty starter Andrew Heaney, Jones went first to third on Andy Ibá?ez’s ground ball through the side, setting up Gleyber Torres’ sacrifice fly for the opening run in their 5-3 win over the Pirates.

“It’s a big part of this time in camp for the position players,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “You’ll see us start to send runners a little bit more, playing our brand of baseball.”

Leading off the bottom of the third, Jones again jumped on Heaney’s first pitch -- this time a slider -- and lined it into the left-field corner for a triple. Jones challenged Pirates left fielder Tommy Pham, sliding safely into third as Pham’s throw bounced to the shortstop side of the bag. Ibá?ez simply had to get a fly ball off Heaney to drive in Jones and tie the game before Javier Báez’s three-run homer put Detroit in front for good.

This is exactly the role the Tigers envision Jones filling if he makes this team: Wreak havoc on lefties, be athletic and play the outfield. As the Tigers cross the midway point of their Spring Training schedule, two weeks away from leaving Florida, Jones is doing everything he can to make them write his name on the lineup card.

“One of the things we told him when he got here was he’s gotta hit left-handed pitching and he’s gotta be an aggressive baserunner,” Hinch said. “Those are the two things we were drawn to, and the defensive versatility. He’s taken that to heart and he’s stating a case to be on this team. And that’s all you can ask players to do.”

Jones is batting .304 (7-for-23) through 11 games, with five hits for extra bases – including two home runs – and team highs of eight RBIs and eight runs scored. With Matt Vierling and Parker Meadows out, Jones has become a fixture in the Tigers’ Grapefruit League outfield, shifting into center field in recent days after beginning camp in the outfield corners.

Vierling will not be ready for Opening Day, leaving an opening for a right-handed hitter. Meadows’ status depends on how his upper arm nerve progresses over the next week or so, which could leave Detroit short another outfielder. With the Tigers opening the season with two potential matchups against Dodgers left-handers, it’s not difficult to see a role for Jones on the Opening Day roster.

Jones has been in this situation before. He made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster last year and spent the first four months with the club as an extra outfielder and pinch-hitter before being outrighted near the end of July. He got a cup of coffee with the Brewers in 2023, playing in seven games. He bounced back and forth between the Orioles and Triple-A Norfolk in 2021, playing in 26 big league games.

Jones, once the Angels’ top prospect who shifted from center field to middle infield with Mike Trout in the big leagues, has learned how to handle this uncertainty. He doesn’t try to do roster math in his head. He just tries to keep his focus on the field. If it’s meant to be, he figures, it’s meant to be.

“The biggest thing for me is just taking it day by day, really not trying to get ahead of myself,” he said after homering and doubling against the Phillies last week. “There are a lot of good players on this roster and a lot of good players in this camp. That's all I'm really thinking about, honestly, just taking it day by day and kind of being where my feet are. I know it's a cliche, but that's truly how I'm approaching it.

“You're talking about a young team that went to the playoffs last year, and I just want to do everything I can to help them get back there and go further. That's all I'm really focused on right now. If it ends up being my name that makes a roster at the end of March, that's great. But honestly [I’m] just trying to take care of my business as best I can and go play a bunch of different positions and get used to being in the lineup.”