Jones on playing center field, his opinions and more

SARASOTA, Fla. - Adam Jones doesn't care if people want to criticize him for playing too shallow in center field. He's going to be himself, he says, and that includes making a joke about it.

Jones ran out to the warning track on the Camden Yards replica field yesterday to start shagging fly balls, leaving the rest of the outfielders a substantial distance in front of him.

But seriously, does he intend to change how he plays the position?

"We shall see," he said, grinning. "I might be up in that center field section up there having a few pops during the game if that's where they want me to play. But at the end of the day, I'm going to do what I do and that's just how it works."

Jones said he wasn't trying to send a message to anyone, including former outfielder and current ESPN analyst Doug Glanville, who stated the four-time Gold Glove winner should play deeper. Or executive vice president Dan Duquette, who referenced the article while sitting down with the media.

"We're all entitled to an opinion, correct?" Jones said.

Jones isn't afraid to speak his mind, including how he thinks the Orioles need more athletic corner outfielders.

Asked whether he was too honest, Jones replied, "No. What's too honest, telling the truth? I think that shows that I care.

"I'm here for one reason. I'm not here to be friends with anybody. I'm here to win, and at the end of the day I think that's what we're all here for. From myself to PR people to general manager, everybody that scouts, I think we're all in the same mission is to win a championship for Baltimore. If they want to have friends, I've got my own friends. I don't need any more friends. I'm here for one reason and that's to win.

"I told the truth. I guess people don't like hearing the truth. Oh well. We're grownups, we're professionals. We'll handle it the right way."

Jones can become a free agent following the 2018 season and there haven't been negotiations on a new deal. He continues to respond to questions about his desire to stay by saying, "That's not up to me."

"Do you want me to go to Peter (Angelos) and say, 'Excuse me, Mr. Angelos, can I have some more money?' That's not going to happen," he said. "If you go out and handle your things between the lines, everything will handle itself."

Here's more from Jones:

On the start of spring training:
"This is our jobs, it's time to go. It's beautiful. The smell of the grass. I think everybody around the league, it's baseball time. Right after the Super Bowl for me is a mental switch, so it's time to play baseball."

On having to balance playing in a lot of games and in the WBC:
"I just think it's a matter of being smart with my body and not trying to overdo it. The WBC's important, very important, but the most important thing is playing for the Orioles and playing from April to hopefully October. I understand that's most important, but I'm going to go out there and give my all for Team USA because it is very, very important for me to go out there and represent my family."

On how equipped the team is to win:
"I think I'm always the most positive guy when it comes to the guys in the clubhouse. I always love the guy we have. I'm not afraid to say that, I'm not afraid to say that ... At the end of the day everybody's going to have to do something in terms of moves. I always say hit me up at the All-Star break to see where we're at and that will let you know how things go.

"Last year at the All-Star break we made a couple moves because we were in it. That's just how the game goes, right? When we go up north, I don't know who we're going to go up with exactly but I know that we're going to be ready to play baseball and ready to play a season. I'm not concerned about who we have in here right now. I just know that at the All-Star break when we're at the trade deadline and we're in extreme competition, I know that the front office - Buck (Showalter), Dan and Peter - will get us the help that we need."

On whether he needs to rest more in spring training:
"I'm adapting to it. It's a learning process for myself. I'd love to take more days off in spring training. That would be great if Buck would do that. For the most part, just learning yourself, keeping yourself in as good a shape as you can, try not to overdo it in spring training."

On how many exhibition games he expects to play:
"All of them. I want to get a lot of at-bats. I'm here to play baseball, so if there's a baseball game, let me play it."

On what's special about the WBC:
"It's representing your country. You've got your country on your chest. You throw away the MLB. You've got the United States on your chest. That's just a different feeling."

On Manny Machado being a WBC opponent:
"If you're in another uniform, you could be my momma, I don't care. You're in another uniform, you're an opponent. Treat it as an opponent. After the game is after the game, but during the game, it is what it is."

On J.J. Hardy's back spasms:
"He's obviously the infield leader and the catalyst. I like to call him our senior player now. He's like the senior analyst on the team. Honestly, we need him. He's tremendous. On the field, when he's on the field, he helps out (Jonathan) Schoop and Manny so much. Just get himself right. That's the beautiful part about spring training is you have time. It's not rushed. As long as he's ready to go by mid-March, that's fine."

On the return of good friend Robert Andino:
"Brings a lot of smiles, man. He brings toughness to the team and I missed having him around him. It's good to have a familiar face."

On whether the years have passed quickly:
"This is year 10 for me. I've seen everybody here, basically everybody here with the exception of J.J. Was fortunate enough to see everybody's debut, so I've seen them grow up. I've seen them (as) the No. 1 prospect, now in the major leagues impacting on a great level. I've seen their families and all that stuff, just seen them grow up. It's just cool.

"If you stay in the game long enough, you're able to accomplish some things. You're able to see some cool things. We've got a good group, and it's good that we've stayed together. After this year and after next year, offseasons, we've been together a long time that means that things are just going to come up to contracts. It's been great that we've been able to have so far five years of really good success with this group of men."