The Rockies acquired Jones from the Rays on Thursday in exchange for left-hander Joe Rock, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Jones was set to head into his second season as a member of the Rays' 40-man roster but has yet to make his MLB debut. He was optioned to minor-league camp early in spring training and didn't appear to be particularly close to reaching the majors with Tampa Bay, but the move to Colorado should help accelerate his big-league debut. For now, Jones is still likely to play at the Triple-A level with the Rockies' top affiliate in Albuquerque, but his experience at both shortstop and in the outfield will give him multiple pathways to a call-up if Colorado loses a position player to an injury at any point. The 25-year-old saw most of his action in 2023 at Triple-A Durham, slashing .278/.344/.467 with seven home runs and 12 stolen bases across 188 plate appearances.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Banished to minors camp
Rotowire
The Rays optioned Jones to minor-league camp Monday.
Jones is heading into his second season as a member of the Rays' 40-man roster, but he's still waiting on making his big-league debut. He split time between Triple-A Durham and Double-A Montgomery in 2023, slashing .244/.318/.432 with 10 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 71 games before being shut down shortly after the All-Star break due to a right hamstring strain. Jones appears to be back to full health heading into the 2024 season, as he appeared in 11 games for the Rays during Grapefruit League play and went 5-for-15 with a home run and a pair of stolen bases.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Lands on 60-day injured list
Rotowire
Tampa Bay recalled Jones from Triple-A Durham on Saturday and placed him on the 60-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.
Before he was called up to the big club, Jones hadn't played for Durham since July 22 due to the injury. Since he wasn't on pace to return to the Durham lineup before the season came to an end, the Rays elected to recall Jones for the purpose of placing him on the 60-day IL in order to open up a spot on the 28-man active roster. Over 188 plate appearances with Durham this season following his promotion from Double-A Montgomery in May, the 25-year-old Jones slashed .274/.340/.464 with seven home runs and 12 stolen bases.
Jones was optioned to minor-league camp by the Rays on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jones was the Rays' first-round pick in 2018, and he was shielded from the Rule 5 draft over the winter. The speedy shortstop is now getting a look in the outfield and could be a bench option if he has success at the higher levels of the minors in 2023. However, it's tough to see a path to regular playing time at this stage.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Shielded from Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
Jones was added to Tampa Bay's 40-man roster Tuesday.
Jones was promoted to Double-A Montgomery late in 2021 and remained there for the entirety of last season. He had a .238/.319/.394 slash line with 37 stolen bases and a 35.9 percent strikeout rate in 79 games.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Running, whiffing plentifully
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Jones is hitting .213/.309/.402 with four homers, 17 steals and a 12:49 BB:K across 30 games for Double-A Montgomery.
He hit an inside-the-park homer Monday, but neither that nor his excellent steal production is enough to make up for Jones' strikeout issues, which have been worse than ever this season. Jones owns a brutal 35.3 percent strikeout rate, which comes on the heels of a 30.3 percent mark across two levels last season. Now 24 years old, Jones -- a 2019 first-round pick -- is getting a little old by prospect standards, and it's starting to look like a utility role would be the best-case scenario for him in the majors.
Jones was promoted from High-A Bowling Green to Double-A Montgomery on Tuesday.
Jones put up strong numbers across 56 games with Bowie, hitting .291/.389/.527 with 13 homers, seven doubles and three triples. A first-round selection in the 2019 draft, Jones will look to continue his success at the plate with Bowling Green.
Jones (quadriceps) has slashed .326/.444/.628 with four home runs and seven stolen bases through his first 11 games at High-A Bowling Green this season.
After suffering a left quad strain in spring training, Jones opened the season on Bowling Green's 7-day injured list, but he missed close to the minimum amount of time before making his 2021 debut May 12. Since that time, Jones has reestablished himself as one of the top shortstop prospects in a Rays organization that's overflowing with middle-infield talent in the minors. Fortunately for the Rays, most of those prospects are at Triple-A Durham or in the majors, so Jones will likely continue to develop at shortstop before perhaps exploring a position change once he appears closer to reaching the big leagues.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Could be out two-plus months
Rotowire
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday that Jones (quadriceps) is expected to miss 6-to-10 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The timeline Cash provided for Jones, a 2019 first-round pick, means that he won't be ready to go for the start of the minor-league season in May. Jones, who sustained the left quad strain in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins, will likely conduct his rehab at the Rays' alternate training site before reporting to Low-A Charleston or High-A Bowling Green once he's fully healthy.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Suffers left quad strain
Rotowire
Jones suffered a left quad strain during Saturday's spring win over the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jones entered Saturday's game as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 during his lone plate appearance. The 23-year-old is expected to begin the regular season in the minors, and it's not yet clear whether he'll make another Grapefruit League appearance in 2021.
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Rays' Greg Jones: Added to 60-man player pool
Rotowire
Jones was added to the Rays' 60-man player pool Monday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Jones will head to Tampa Bay's alternate training site in Charlotte, although he seems unlikely to make it to the majors in 2020. The 22-year-old shortstop was drafted by the Rays in the first round of the 2019 draft.
