During an appearance on Flippin Bats with Ben Verlander, five-time All-Star Adam Jones gave his two cents on the current state of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
While the majority of Jones’s playing time spanned 11 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, he concluded his professional journey in a Diamondbacks’ uniform, participating in 137 games in Arizona before retiring in 2019.
Ironically, the Diamondbacks and the Orioles are now in similar positions. Both have a large handful of young talent and are coming off an unexpected appearance in the postseason.
However, where these two teams stand apart is how they have approached this offseason. The Diamondbacks, on one hand, have used the momentum garnered during their trip to the World Series and have acquired much-needed pieces, such as a starting pitcher and a third baseman. On the other hand, the Baltimore Orioles, who were knocked out in the Wild Card round last October, have failed to make any moves this winter.
As a result, Adam Jones had some opposite reactions when speaking about his two former ballclubs. After expressing concern about the Orioles‘ quietness this winter, Jones went on to give heavy praise to what the Diamondbacks have built in the Valley.
Jones explained, ‘I fully love everything that they have done over there.’ He even went as far as saying, ‘They are the perfect model for teams that win.’
Due to the D-backs recent spending splurge, they have climbed to 16th in payroll size and are spending at the highest levels in franchise history. Meanwhile, the Orioles remain stagnant with the third lowest payroll in the league.
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