Spencer Jones Belongs On The Yankees Big Team

Where does Spencer Jones fit in this carnival of Yankee outfield chaos? That’s the million-dollar question… or in Yankee terms, the $300 million question they’ll somehow spend on the wrong guy and still manage to start the season with some rando batting .147 in center.

Everyone and their barber shop seems convinced Kyle Tucker is the answer. Sure, he’s great—he also costs a small country. Then you’ve got Aaron Judge, the guy literally dragging the offense around like a sack of bricks while Brian Cashman sits in his office pretending he discovered analytics in a Cracker Jack box.

And now there’s this “Cody Bellinger reunion tour” chatter. Wonderful. Love Belli. Great defender. Leader. Cheaper than Tucker. Fans adore him. Which of course means Cashman will probably ignore him completely and instead sign someone who just hit .209 with “upside.”

But let’s get to the real story here: Spencer. Freaking. Jones.

The kid is putting up great numbers in the minors while the Yankees act like promoting prospects is some kind of state secret. Jones hit .274 with 35 homers and 29 steals across Double-A and Triple-A. Nineteen of those bombs came in just 67 games at Scranton. That’s not a prospect—that’s a warning label.

Cashman even praised him at the GM Meetings, which was adorable. He said Jones will “come to spring training with a chance to win a starting job.”

Translation: We have no plan, we never have a plan, and if we accidentally trip into a plan we will bench it in favor of a 34-year-old with a strained hamstring.

Cashman’s quotes—“He’s put himself in the conversation… depends on how our winter plays out… he’s earned a look”—are classic Yankee GM babble. The man says a lot of words that somehow mean absolutely nothing. It’s like listening to someone describe a sandwich they never actually made.

Because here’s the truth: if Cashman signs a couple of expensive outfield toys, Spencer Jones is going right back to Triple-A, where he’ll hit another 20 homers and wonder why the Yankees even bother pretending they have a farm system.

Why do we hype these prospects if we’re just going to shove them back into Scranton until they grow a mustache like Matt Carpenter?

This shouldn’t even be a debate. Jones is ranked the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect, No. 99 overall in baseball, and every scout with functioning eyesight believes he can handle center field. He even played the corners last year just to show off how versatile he is. If Grisham leaves—and he should ( I feel like it’s time)—Jones should walk into camp as the obvious candidate for center.

And yes, Grisham had his moments, but it’s time to move on. Lovely glove. Good dude. But we’re done.

So here’s the blueprint in my opinion, and it’s not rocket science:

Bring up Spencer Jones.
Re-sign Cody Bellinger.
Grab a couple backups.
Stop overthinking everything like you’re defusing a bomb.

I cannot believe the Yankees have turned this into a puzzle. This is not a puzzle. This is easy. 

What in the actual hell is the Yankees front office doing?

Oh right—whatever makes the least sense.