After the Orioles’ trade deadline fire sale, Adam Jones is defending his right to refuse a move to a contender.
As the trade deadline approached, the Baltimore Orioles traded basically anyone they could. Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Kevin Gausman, Darren O’Day and Brad Brach are all gone. Outfielder Adam Jones was an obvious candidate to be moved too, but he has a no-trade clause that comes with 10 and 5 rights.
Jones is in the final year of his contract, and he’s having a solid season as he turns 33 on Wednesday (.286/.314/.433 slash-line, 11 home runs and 44 RBI). The Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Indians were rumored to have interest in him, but as Tuesday afternoon’s non-waiver trade deadline approached that buzz went away.
Jones would surely like to win a World Series before his career is over. But according to Eduardo Encina of The Baltimore Sun, he’s standing behind his decision (and collectively bargained right) to remain with the Orioles.
One-hundred percent,” “I made the decision, you all didn’t. This is my decision, this is my life. I’m not going around dictating other people’s lives. So why do they do that with us? No one is going to tell me what to do. I earned every single bit of it. People before me fought vigorously, tirelessly, to get rights like this. And I can invoke them.
“When players walked out years ago and walked the picket lines and stuff, they did that for reasons like this. I earned this and it’s my decision. I don’t have to explain it to nobody. It’s my decision. Thank you.
Apart from any on-field concerns, spending the last 11 years in Baltimore has firmly embedded Jones in the local community.
If Jones clears waivers, the door would be open for him to change his mind and be traded before the end of August. The Houston Astros may surface as a suitor, depending on the status of George Springer after he suffered a shoulder injury Tuesday night, and Cleveland’s acquisition of Leonys Martin on Tuesday shouldn’t necessarily take them out of the mix for Jones as an August acquisition.
Upon hitting free agency, Jones will almost surely be in another uniform next season. So he can’t be blamed for wanting to savor his last months in an Orioles’ uniform, even if it means staying on a team that’s easily headed for 100-plus losses.