Yankees Top Prospect Sends Strong Message to Organization

The New York Yankees' top prospect Spencer Jones may just be their top trade piece, but if you ask him, he'd rather don the Pinstripes than be traded away. In a new interview with The Athletic's Chris Kirschner, Jones said that he would prefer to play in New York and remain "loyal" to the organization.

“I was just talking to my girlfriend about this, but at the end of the day, I want to play in New York and be a part of this organization and stay loyal to it,” Jones said,“That’s a big part of who I am and where I want to go in my career.”

Jones, who the Yankees drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, has been having an excellent season in the minors. In the 16 games since he earned promotion to the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, he's slashing an incredible .426/ .481/ .941 and has hit 10 homers. This season overall, he's hitting a similarly impressive .317/ .415/ .691 between the RailRiders and AA Somerset Pirates.

While some would encourage the Yankees to keep that kind of talent around until Jones is ready to make his MLB debut, others are less sure. Some analysts — and fans — suggest that his hitting powers won't translate to the majors, especially since Jones whiffs 37.6 percent of his swings. However, Jones told Krischner that he has been working with his coaches to have a better sense of pitches and when to swing, and clearly that work has been paying off.

While Jones prefers to stay in New York and is making that preference known in the organization, he isn't letting the online chatter from fans or insiders get to him.

"To me, that's the really fun part of baseball at this time of year," he said. "I really like the creativity that fans have. It's awesome."

The Yankees have some serious and immediate needs to address if they want to make it back to the World Series this season. Dealing Jones could be a fast track to adding a hard-hitting third baseman like the Arizona Diamondback's Eugenio Suarez or another starting pitcher, like Mitch Keller of the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, as Krischner pointed out, if the Yankees deal Jones and he goes on to have a stellar MLB career, the team may never live it down.

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