SARASOTA, Fla. _ Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is excited about recent additions to improve the team's outfield defense, but still worries about the club's range.
The team retained veteran outfielder Michael Bourn _ who improved the Orioles' corner outfield defense for the final month of the season after they acquired him on Aug. 31 _ by signing him to a minor league contract Monday. That came two days after adding defensive-minded outfielder Craig Gentry, also on a minor league deal.
The moves addressed Jones' concern, which he expressed in his media session at FanFest last month, that the Orioles still needed to add more athleticism to the outfield. His comments came after the team retained slugger Mark Trumbo and traded for outfielder Seth Smith.
The addition of Bourn and Gentry will undoubtedly help address the Orioles' outfield defense, but Jones said the bats of Trumbo, Smith and outfielder Hyun Soo Kim will still see the most playing time.
"Those are two guys who have great track records of catching the ball," Jones said of Bourn and Gentry. "I'm thrilled to have them in camp, but what you have to understand is that the everyday players are probably going to be Trumbo and Kim or Seth and Kim."
Last year, the Orioles' outfield defense was rated the worst in baseball, with a minus-11.2 cumulative ultimate zone runs per 150 games (UZR/150), according to FanGraphs. The statistic rates a defender's value based on the plays he makes on batted balls in his vicinity. The Orioles outfield also had a major league-worst minus-51 defensive runs saved (DRS) last season.
Jones said the moves indicate to him that the team is aware it needed to improve the outfield defensively.
"You see that they're here, so that means that the team is, not necessarily listening to me, but they've been watching the game," Jones said. "It's reality. You watch the game and you see what we're lacking. And it's not any jabs against any other person. It just is what it is. Some people just excel at different things. It just is what it is. For us to be a very contending team and to get out of that first round and past that wild card, we need to improve."
"At the end of the day, whatever you have to do to win is what you got to," Jones added. "It doesn't matter who's out there. Whatever you have to do, we're going to have to do. If you look at it, our efficiency is terrific. We catch the ball. We throw the ball to the right bases. We catch everything that is in our vicinities. It just is what it is. The best thing about being a professional athlete is that you figure out that you're a professional, and you know how to make adjustments. That's just what we're going to have to do, figure it out, somehow, some way."
