Adam Jones' postgame comments and more international talk

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

July 29, 2018, 2:06pm

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Orioles center fielder Adam Jones may well still be on the club after Tuesday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trading deadline. But after today's 11-5 win over Tampa Bay, Jones was not yet ready to shed much light on the situation.

He was asked if he thought this could be his last O's game of this year.

"We shall see," he said.

As a 10-5 player who can veto any trade, has Jones expressed a desire to the team to stay an Oriole and not get traded?

"We shall see," Jones said and he added that there were no more emotions today than usual as he went 3-for-4 in the win.

Jones was asked if it will be a relief when the trade deadline passes.

"It doesn't matter to me. So there you go," he said.

During a press conference to discuss the trade of pitcher Brad Brach to Atlanta for international signing bonus money, O's executive vice president Dan Duquette said he believes Jones wants to stay an Oriole. So does that mean the club might pursue an extension with Jones now instead of a trade?

"I think the club is in the rebuild mode," said Duquette. "And we're going to be taking a look at some younger ballplayers going forward. That is the direction we're going to go in. His contract is up and I don't know whether Adam will be here or not. But the club is going in the direction of younger ballplayers. I can tell you that."

Meanwhile, back to baseball, Jones talked about the Orioles scoring 37 runs in the past three games.

"Great. We had 15, 11 and 11. I think it was great," he said. "Good to see guys with multi-hit games throughout the weekend. Always fun to come to the park and play with these guys that never quit. My man Jim Thome going into the Hall of Fame today had the famous line he told me, 'You're either the bug or the windshield.' Too often this year we've been the bug. But the last few days we've been the windshield. Shows the potential of what we can really do when we're swinging the bats together."

Jones was involved in a key play in the first inning when his takeout slide at second base led to three runs eventually scoring.

"It added another out which scored a run and a two-run homer from C.D. (Chris Davis) took us up 3-0 opposed to a wash of an inning," Jones said. "I would say it was key to that inning."

Right-hander Dylan Bundy gave the Orioles a fourth straight quality start today, allowing three runs on three solo homers and four hits over seven innings.

"Felt great," Bundy said. "Seemed like me and Wynny (catcher Austin Wynns) were on the same page today. Fastball command is where it all started. Just located the fastball more on the edges of the plate and not over the middle of the plate and I used a little bit more of the two-seamer today. Obviously, not very good on those three homers."

Bundy was asked if the trades have been a clubhouse distraction.

"You've just got to go out there and play. There are people coming and going all the time in the clubhouse. So just go out to perform and try to win a ballgame," he said.

More on the international front: The Orioles expect to sign young amateur international players this week, Duquette said today. He talked further about his upcoming plans on the international market.

"My strategy on the international market is to get there first, see the player first and develop a relationship with the family and make a good investment," he said. "Get as many young players as possible. There is a lot of interest in the international market because of the quality of the players and the finite number of bonus slots that clubs can utilize. We hope to sign a couple of international players this week. We hope to be able to announce that we have signed some young international prospects from the Dominican and Venezuela this week."

Will it be an advantage in that market for the Orioles that some clubs have already spent a lot of their pool money for international talent?

"I hope so," Duquette said with a laugh. "We'll see."