How does Odor's signing impact Jones?

The signing of Rougned Odor for the 2022 season fit the usual description of a placeholder for the Orioles until their top middle infield prospects are ready to hold down full-time jobs in the majors.

Until the club decides where to spread out its shortstops, including Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg.

The Orioles waited until Aug. 24 to recall Jahmai Jones from Triple-A Norfolk, after his bat had cooled and he appeared to grow a little more comfortable in his reintroduction to second base. They optioned him on Sept. 16 and recalled him a week later to replace Ramón Urías, who suffered a right adductor strain that eventually led to surgery.

Without Urías' injury, Jones may have stayed with the Tides rather than get a second chance in Baltimore.

Jones appreciated the fans who screamed on social media earlier in the summer for the Orioles to let him take over a position that generated an embarrassingly low amount of production. He had to be an upgrade. Let the prospects play.

Meanwhile, the reports at Triple-A suggested that he needed more work in the field and at the plate. The Orioles didn't budge.

Jones' first opportunity came after he appeared in 69 games with Norfolk and batted .238/.329/.417 with nine doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 35 RBIs over 290 plate appearances. He sustained an oblique injury earlier in the summer and went 12-for-65 (.185) in August with a double, two home runs and 17 strikeouts before getting the call.

Over 72 plate appearances with the Orioles, Jones went 10-for-67 (.149) with three doubles, three RBIs, four walks, 26 strikeouts and a .402 OPS. He was 1-for-12 with six strikeouts after the Orioles recalled him in September.

Jones had a 0.0 dWAR in three games with the Angels in 2020 and 26 with the Orioles this season, according to Baseball-Reference.com. But FanGraphs.com had his Defensive Runs Saved at minus-1 and Statcast registered his Outs Above Average at minus-5.

At least a few people in the organization believed he should go back to the outfield, while others wanted to develop him at second base and let him focus on one position rather than switching again.

Which brings us to now.

Jones is only 24 and has some tools that appealed to the Orioles when they acquired him from the Angels in February for starter Alex Cobb. He's athletic and on the 40-man roster, and figures to dive back into the competition in spring training, hoping to earn the job at second or a role on the bench.

The Orioles would need to decide whether being a reserve, if that's the outcome, makes more sense than letting him play every day in Triple-A.

Odor isn't a long-term solution and the Orioles aren't seeking one, but he's a roadblock for Jones and others who entered the offseason eyeing second base. Of course, it could become available again if he's flipped at the deadline.

There's temporary and then there's really temporary.

The 2022 infield remains a work in progress, an unfinished product, a task largely put on hold during the lockout because teams can't sign players to major league contracts. We don't know the front office's exact comfort level with the left side, whether it would step into opening day with a combination of Urías, Kelvin Gutiérrez and Jorge Mateo getting the bulk of the starts.

Urías batted .279/.361/.412 in 85 games with 14 doubles and seven home runs, and manager Brandon Hyde praised his work in the field. His .361 OBP led American League rookies and ranked fourth in the majors. He became the ninth Orioles rookie to post an OBP of .360 or higher in a minimum 295 plate appearances and the first since Hyun Soo Kim in 2016 (.382). Urías had the third-highest fWAR on the team behind Cedric Mullins (5.3) and Austin Hays (2.4) and it ranked sixth among AL rookies.

There's more. Urías slashed .315/.402/.420 in 164 plate appearances against right-handers. He went 24-for-69 (.348) with runners in scoring position. He hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games and reached base in all of them, batting .316/.409/.368 (12-for-38) with two doubles, four RBis, six walks and four runs scored.

The skills to move around the infield make Urías a solid utility candidate, but he may be more to the Orioles.

They still need to figure out what they're doing with the infield. And whether Jones has an immediate role in it.