Trade talk with Adam Jones, frustration for Alex Cobb and more

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones called it "uncommon territory." He was talking about trade rumors and his name being involved with them. After Manny Machado was traded, so was Zach Britton. Now the Orioles center fielder could be next.

He's patrolled center for the Orioles since the 2008 season, when he played in a lineup that included Ramón Hernández, Kevin Millar, Brian Roberts, Luke Scott, Melvin Mora, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff. Jones was just 22.

Among active players in most games played with their current team, Jones ranks fifth with 1,565, behind Yadier Molina of St. Louis, Joe Mauer of Minnesota, Ryan Zimmerman of Washington and David Wright of the New York Mets.

But now, a few days short of his 33rd birthday, he could be in his final days as an Oriole.

"It's pretty humbling to see that other teams have interest in my services," he said. "Either with the on-field play, the leadership, the tough mindset. The work mentality that I have. To not wear black and orange? I've donned it for 11 years. It would be different. But it's business. If the other team is calling, the other team is paying you, you have to do what you have to do."

But Jones does not have to accept a trade. As a 10-5 player - 10 years in the majors, five with the same team - he has veto power over any trade. That makes his situation very different than those of Machado and Britton.

"One hundred percent," he said. "They can say whatever they want and propose whatever they want. But 'Yeah, you know? Doesn't work for me.' It's interesting. We shall see what happens. I don't know what the plan is here for the future, or if I'm even part of it. Let's see what interest can be generated and see how my representation and my family feel about something that could happen."

Jones was asked about a scenario in which he is traded, plays for a contender the rest of this year and then re-signs with the Orioles.

"Is the door open? You can want all you want," he said. "But if that door is not open, you're just going to be sitting outside knocking. Who knows, to be honest with you. Who knows?"

Jones made these comments before Thursday's game at Camden Yards against the Tampa Bay Rays. To read more of his comments, click here.

About last night: The Orioles lost another close game last night, falling 4-3 to Tampa Bay. They are 29-74 overall, 10-20 in one-run games, 4-6 against Tampa Bay and 17-35 at home.

Right-hander Alex Cobb gave the Orioles just their second quality start in the last 17 games, but he and the club still lost. Cobb allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings. He is now 2-14 with a 6.08 ERA and leads the majors in losses. He took a career-high seventh straight loss last night. The Orioles are 3-16 in his starts this season.

Whether it is an unearned run that beats him, as it did last night, or a lack of run support, something always seems to go wrong for Cobb, even on a night such as last night, when the Rays just didn't hit him very hard.

"When you give up soft contact, runs score. It's hard to try to feel like you did the right thing, pitching to weak contact, because you get so angry and so frustrated with it. But you have to understand that you don't need to change anything out there. You just need to keep forcing it and, hopefully, it finds people. But it's been tough. I mean, finding every which way to lose a ballgame right now," Cobb said.

Jonathan Schoop homered for the fourth straight game and is the first Oriole to do that since Chris Davis did it Aug. 17-20, 2016. Schoop produced his 10th multi-RBI game and third in a row. He's batting .359 (14-for-39) during a nine-game hitting streak.

Davis had a double and solo homer in the loss. It is the first game all year when he had two or more extra-base hits. Since the start of 2012, Davis ranks fourth among active players, with 234 home runs.

Catcher Caleb Joseph fired a strike to second base to get Mallex Smith trying to steal second in the third inning. Joseph is 11-for-33 (33.3 percent) throwing out runners.

The Orioles have produced four straight games with nine hits or more for the second time this season. The only other time they did that was May 8-11.

Farm notes: At Triple-A Norfolk yesterday, in Game 1 of a doubleheader, righty reliever Cody Carroll made his O's organization debut in the seventh inning and got the win. He retired the side on 12 pitches with two strikeouts and touched 99 mph on the stadium radar gun. Carroll came over in the trade that sent Zach Britton to the Yankees. Before the deal, he was 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings with Triple-A Scranton.

Meanwhile, another pitcher acquired in that trade, left-hander Josh Rogers, is expected to make his Norfolk debut when he starts for the Tides tomorrow night. Rogers was 6-8 with a 3.95 ERA in 19 starts for Scranton.

Norfolk won both games of that doubleheader yesterday via walk-off homers. Luis Sardiñas connected to end the opener. In Game 2, the Tides won a wild, extra-inning affair as Breyvic Valera hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run to power Norfolk to a 6-5, 13-inning victory. Valera was acquired from the Dodgers in the Machado trade.

Single-A Frederick right-hander Michael Baumann tossed six shutout innings of four-hit baseball as the Keys topped Winston-Salem, 6-1. Baumann (6-2) walked one and struck out two en route to his second consecutive start of six scoreless frames. He now leads all Orioles minor league farmhands in wins (11).

Single-A Delmarva lefty DL Hall, the Orioles' 2017 top draft pick, gave up one run over five innings with nine strikeouts in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Hagerstown yesterday, but took a 1-0 loss. In four July starts, Hall has a 0.79 ERA and has fanned 34 in 22 2/3 innings.