Jahmai Jones: "I'm definitely happy to have a fan base in Baltimore"

The Orioles are continuing their series against the Angels in Anaheim tonight with former teammate Alex Cobb providing the opposition. A face-to-faces reminder of the Feb. 2 trade that provided some salary relief, though the Orioles included $10 million in the deal, and shaved years of experience off the rotation.

Cobb had his season interrupted by a recurrence of the blister issues that dogged him with the Orioles. He's made 11 starts and posted a 5.09 ERA and 1.302 WHIP, averaging a career-high 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

The player who came to the Orioles in the trade, Jahmai Jones, isn't as visible unless you follow the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Literally follow them, from city to city.

Jones is the primary second baseman who's also gotten four starts in left field. The No. 16 prospect in the system per MLBPipeline.com and No. 17 per Baseball America. A player fans are clamoring to see in the majors, a level that's eluded Jones since he made three appearances with the Angels in 2020.

He appreciates your support.

Jones, who turns 24 in August, entered last night batting .272/.398/.467 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 19 walks and 19 strikeouts in 25 games. He was 4-for-8 with a home run on his injury rehab assignment with Single-A Aberdeen, an oblique injury on May 9 costing him a month of the season.

An unsettled second base position in the majors, beginning with Hanser Alberto's non-tender and continuing through Yolmer Sánchez's release, the failed experiment with Rio Ruiz that also led to his release and the decision to option and designate Stevie Wilkerson for assignment, has illuminated Jones' work at Norfolk. Samples of success at the plate and the promise he carries are pushing him deeper into the conversation.

He's grateful for that, as well. But it isn't a distraction or source of frustration as other players are promoted ahead of him, the most recent examples middle infielders Ramón Urías and Domingo Leyba, summoned to Buffalo last weekend to improve shortstop coverage.

Leyba has been playing second and third, but he enables Urías and Pat Valaika to share short.

Jones is in Charlotte tonight. A long way from Anaheim. And he's just as joyful and enthusiastic as usual. Thorough and thoughtful in his answers. Intelligent, mature and a team-first mentality that contribute to his high makeup scores in the scouting fraternity. Impressive on many levels on and off the field.

We spoke this week. Of course, his phone call came a few minutes early. He wasn't taking any chances on being late, even if his return to a major league roster is delayed.

A broad question to start, but how do you think everything is working out for you so far?
"I think things are going well so far. I'm really trying to focus on doing the things that I was doing well before going on the IL, and going on the IL gave me a lot of time to evaluate myself and evaluate what was going to be important when I came back. And I think the biggest thing early on was staying within myself, not trying to get too big or swing too hard, knowing that I had an oblique injury. Ultimately it was allowing me to see the ball and really just go after the pitch I want to go after. Really, that's what it's been from the hitting side is just try to get the best pitch I can to get a barrel on it and get on base for the guys behind me in the lineup.

"I really do feel like we have a good lineup here at Norfolk, so I wasn't worried about trying to hit homers or get a whole bunch of RBIs. It was like, if I can get on base, get to second as fast as I can for these guys behind me, I know they'll drive me in. So there was a little bit of a comforting feeling knowing the guys behind me were good, but at the same time understanding myself as a player. And then from a fielding sense, again, just getting reps there that I missed from the oblique injury. Those have been the biggest things.

How did you suffer the injury and was that a first for you?
"I have never had an oblique injury and I just did it swinging one day. I felt something kind of grab me in my side and it wasn't immediately like, 'Oh, my gosh, it killed me.' It grabbed me a little bit and I was like, 'I'm going to step out.' I walked out of the (cage) during BP and I was like, 'This doesn't feel good,' so I went over to Marty Brinker, our trainer, and he was doing an evaluation on me and he said, 'I think you have a very minor Grade 1 oblique strain. We did a couple more tests and saw an ortho and they were like, 'Yeah, it's very, very minor, but you definitely tweaked your oblique a little bit.'

"Obviously, when I hear that, the only thing I'm thinking of is, 'Man, I'm missing games and missing time' and this and that, and I'm thinking, 'You've got to be kidding me.' But everything happens for a reason, there's a plan. I don't know why it was supposed to happen, but I can't fret over it now and worry about the time I missed or worry if it's going to happen again. I feel healthy now and I'm just trying to play my game while I can."

You can't rush back from an oblique. I've never heard of a guy coming back in seven to 10 days.
"Exactly. I think it was three weeks on the dot when I got to Aberdeen from when it happened and they even said that was quick. But the way I was progressing and the way I was feeling and the way I was doing the exercises and all the return to play tests that I had to pass before getting into a game were a little bit ahead of schedule, which allowed me to get into games a little bit faster and go to Aberdeen and have a rehab stint, and after that come back to Norfolk and start playing again."

Meanwhile, lots of fans here are clamoring for the Orioles to call you up. Twitter was blowing up last weekend. What's your reaction when you see multiple infielders called up and they're keeping you in Norfolk?
"My reaction is the same either way. One, I was super excited for those guys because obviously I've been talking a lot with Urías and Leyba about how they were playing and everyone's just kind of vibing with each other, so when they get called up, I'm super excited for them. Nothing short of that, just because it's an opportunity to go to the big leagues, and regardless if it's your first time to go to the big leagues or it's your 30th time going up and down, anytime you get to go be in The Show, in my eyes, it's a great thing. And obviously you don't want to see them come back down. They got the call right before the game and we were in a rain delay, and (Ryan) McKenna was going, as well, so I was super excited for them, making sure they were excited and everything like that. And everybody seemed happy about it, so I was good.

"I don't feel any, how do I say this, sore about it that it wasn't me, thinking like, 'Oh, man, that should have been me. Are you kidding me? That's not fair.' Yada, yada, yada. At the end of the day, it's not my decision. Whenever the Orioles deem that I'm ready to join the club and the big leagues is when I'll go to the big leagues. I'm not in any rush or trying to play any different than I would normally. I'm just going to play my game and have fun where I'm at, where my feet are that day. So, if it's in Triple-A, I'm going to play my game in Triple-A. If it's in the big leagues, I'm going to play my game in the big leagues. But when they got called up, I was excited.

"I trust the process and the plan that is being put in place for me by the Orioles and (Mike) Elias and everybody, so I'm not in any rush. Obviously, I want to be there as early and as long as I can, but I personally can't push that, focusing on trying to get called up. The only way I do that is just playing my game and playing well while I'm here, learning as much as I can, so that when I do go up and get my shot, it is to stay there and not go back and forth. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from the players here, trying to be the best player I can be, no matter where I am. And so understanding that, I'm just excited for when I get the opportunity, whenever that's going to happen. If that's in a day, if that's in a week, a month, whenever it may be. I'm just excited to get the call."

I don't know what your social media presence is like, but were you aware of how many people were hoping it would be you and wondering what's taking so long? Are you aware of how popular you've become with fans?
(laughs) "Not entirely. I know a couple of my buddies here on the Tides have shown me a couple tweets where people have just said some things, but I didn't know that it was, as a vast majority, was as popular as you say.

"It's definitely a good feeling. Anytime a group of fans has your name out there, it's a good feeling, knowing that there are people who want to see you play, people who want you to be on the big league team. And it's exciting. Obviously, being traded, I didn't know how I was going to be received as a player for the fan base. I know Orioles fans are super loyal and I know it's a great fan base, so I was excited for that, but you just never know.

"I mean, getting traded over, people can be like, 'Oh, man, why are we making this trade?' Or they can say, 'Oh, wow, I'm really excited to have him here.' I was just going to play my game and whatever happens, happens, but it's definitely exciting and I'm definitely happy to have a fan base in Baltimore."

How has this been explained to you? Have they sat down with you and said, "Look, this is the plan for you here and what we want you to focus on and what we're trying to do?" Has that been laid out for you?
"The biggest thing like when I was in big league camp, they were just telling me that they wanted me to get as many reps as I can at second to get comfortable playing there, and that's really been the popular topic for me moving forward is just defensive reps. I want to be a complete player and I don't want to be a guy who just hits or a guy who just plays defense or a guy who just base steals. I want to be a complete player when I get up to the big leagues.

"I've obviously had less defensive reps at second than I have the outfield, so they want me to get more reps at second. And the oblique injury didn't help me get those reps, so the big thing is I'm just trying to get a lot of reps and a lot of work at second base, so whenever they're ready for me to come up, I can help the team out and just do my job."

How comfortable are you at second base?
"Oh, I'm very comfortable at second. I love it. A lot of people are, 'Well, you've only been playing for a couple years,' this and that. I love it. I love being in the infield, I love just being in the action, so I'm very comfortable at second base."

Was there a specific reason why you also played left field? Besides the number of second basemen who were on the roster before the call-ups?
"I would just assume keeping all options open. We have a lot of young players and a lot of depth on the team, so wherever they see me on the field is where they see me. If they see me in left one game, if they see me in right, center, second, whatever, I'm perfectly fine playing wherever they want to put me. So me having an outfield background, probably just want to keep me fresh out there just in case late defensive change or pinch-hit or something where I might have to move a position or I'm being plugged in the lineup that they can put me somewhere to get me on the field.

"That would be my assumption, but no specific thing has been brought to my attention on, 'You need to do this, you need to do that.' I'm just assuming since I have an outfield background that all doors are open. A lot of guys are rotating. We're all moving around and guys are playing the outfield, guys are playing different positions. It's just a steady rotation."

That includes Richie Martin, who was playing center field when he crashed into the fence and fractured his left wrist.
"That was definitely unfortunate, seeing any players get hurt. I hated seeing that just from a health standpoint. I know he's missed some games in the past due to injuries and he was really looking forward to this year. He and I had a lot of talks, just because of big league camp and alt site and being together, spending a lot of time in the infield and everything. So that one hit pretty hard just because I knew how passionate he was about playing and I knew how much he was looking forward to this year. For it to be cut short by something like this, just an unfortunate injury."

Are the Orioles implementing anything different than you're accustomed to, like the analytics and other data that you might not have been exposed to before?
"No, it's pretty much all standard stuff that we would normally get throughout spring, just the same things that we've been doing. I know there's some information available for me if I wanted it and I've used some of it to my advantage, but I don't think there's anything that's too out of - how do I say this? - so out there that I wasn't getting anywhere else to use. I know there's a lot of information there, but personally I'm super basic when it comes to a lot of things. I know other guys are using it for sure. Me personally, I'm more kind of old school, I should say."

This is the last one, I promise ...
"No, you're fine."

Getting back to second base, what specifically do you feel is the biggest thing to work on, the biggest adjustment going from outfield to that position? Whether it's the cutoff or turning the double play or something else that's been a challenge.
"I guess I would say just the non-routine plays that come from experience and come from reps where you understand what to do, where to be. I don't think there's a specific thing where I'm like, 'This needs to get better,' or, 'I feel really deficient in this area.' I just think it's the little nuances that come with experience that you only get through playing games. No fungo or anything can simulate that as much as just game reps."