Adam Jones: "The word 'rebuild' is not in my vocabulary"

It is probably obvious, but as the non-waiver trade deadline approached on Monday, one group that didn't necessarily want the Orioles to look to the future is the current group of players.

Some players have told me that they would have understood if the team had started to look to the future. The Orioles were seven games under .500 about two and a half weeks ago.

But even after a long stretch of losing baseball, the players insisted they could still make a playoff push. Executive vice president Dan Duquette felt the team had better days ahead.

Now they have won five in a row and 11 of 16 games. A 16-game run of solid baseball doesn't come close to erasing two-plus months of poor baseball. But the Orioles are finally trending in the right direction. Now we find out if this is a blip on the radar in a miserable season or a bigger turnaround.

An Oriole since the 2008 season and a free agent after 2018, center fielder Adam Jones has Duquette's back on his decisions at the trade deadline.

"I think it is great that Dan said we're in it," Jones said this afternoon. "I've watched opinions through social media. A lot of people said we're out of it and should rebuild. The word 'rebuild' is not in my vocabulary. Just the fact that I'm older. Nothing makes me happy about rebuilding. I was the rebuild part of it. Myself, (Chris) Tillman, we got J.J. (Hardy) via a trade. We did the rebuild stage and now it's time to take that a step further."

Jones said he heard the criticism of the team, a club that is still under .500 at 53-54, and he said it is fair. Losing brings criticism. He gets that.

But he likes the acquisitions of Jeremy Hellickson and Tim Beckham, and now the team moves forward to try and salvage something for the year over the last 55 games.

"Sometimes it is good for guys to have a fresh start," Jones said. "I think on our side, a lot of people thought we would be selling. We know Zach (Britton) is a hot commodity, a high want. Same with Brad Brach and (Darren) O'Day. Manny (Machado) is obviously a coveted piece and a lot of franchises would love to have him.

"But I like what our team did. Beckham was the first overall pick in the country. I've played against him his entire career. He can bring something that not everybody on our team has - speed. He plays with a flair and is not afraid to take the extra base.

"Hellickson started his career in Tampa and I faced him a boatload of times. I know his competitive nature and what he can bring to a team. Adding that to our team, that tells me first off, the organization is not saying we're out of it.

"Let's not forget also that in August is a waiver claim (needed to make trades). Trades can still happen in August. Let's just be quiet, mind our business and play the game. You never know what can happen over a two- or three-week stretch. Now we're playing solid. Let's keep our heads down and handle our business. Then hopefully looking up Sept. 1 and we are fighting for the playoffs."