The Yankees announced on Monday that they have designated infielder/outfielder Jahmai Jones for assignment and reinstated designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported the moves on X prior to the official announcement.
Jones, 26, was claimed by the Yankees in February. Out of options, he has lasted on the roster through roughly two-thirds of the season but didn’t get much playing time in his bench role. To this point, he has been sent to the plate 47 times while appearing in 33 contests. He hit .238/.304/.381 while striking out in 34 percent of his trips to the plate, lining up defensively at second base, third base and in the outfield corners.
Throughout the year, the Yanks have welcomed DJ LeMahieu back from the IL and acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr., bolstering their position player mix and nudging Jones off the roster. They will now have just over 24 hours to explore trade talks, but might end up putting Jones on waivers.
Jones may receive interest due to his previous prospect pedigree. He was a second-round pick of the Angels back in 2015 and subsequently got some top-100 love, but he hasn’t really had much of a chance to prove himself at the major league level. The Angels added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2019, but Jones has only appeared in 69 MLB games over the past five seasons, bouncing to the Orioles, Brewers and Yankees.
But his work in the minors has continued to be impressive. Over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, he drew walks in 15.2 percent of his plate appearances, only striking out 21.8 percent of the time. He slashed a combined .254/.378/.441 in those seasons for a 114 wRC+. He also stole 25 bases in that time in 34 tries. He exhausted his final option year in 2023, which is why the Yankees haven’t been able to send him down this year.
Between his solid Triple-A offense, his past prospect pedigree and his defensive versatility, Jones could sway some club may give him a chance for the final few months of the season, likely a rebuilding team that has playing time to offer. He came into 2024 with less than a year of service time, meaning he can be retained for five seasons beyond this one if things click for him.
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