Former Oriole Adam Jones to Make Cactus League Debut Tuesday
While Adam Jones has already begun playing minor league spring training games, his first official Cactus League appearance hasn’t yet happened. Luckily, we won’t have to wait much longer, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Per Piecoro, Jones is expected to make his debut on Tuesday evening when the Diamondbacks play the Padres.
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In the days leading up to his first official spring training game, Jones has been impressing folks. He homered in a minor league game this past Friday and, according to Piecoro, he reached base five times in just seven plate appearances. Afterward, Jones told Piecoro that “it felt amazing to be out there between the lines with the fellas.”
Adam Jones just crushed a two-run home run to left-center in a minor league game at Salt River Fields.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) March 15, 2019
Moving forward, it’s expected that Jones will be Arizona’s starting center fielder on Opening Day. Ketel Marte had originally been penciled in at the position but bringing Jones in complicated that plan. Jones had a higher batting average than Marte in 2018 (.281 compared to .260) and has a lot more experience straight away. That said, Marte is also a solid infielder so don’t be surprised if he’s also in their Opening Day lineup, just at another position.