Recently, there had been speculation that the New York Yankees would have to send Spencer Jones to Triple-A (in order to activate Cody Bellinger).
However, an injury to Ryan McMahon opened up a spot on the roster where Jones was able to stay in the MLB (with Bellinger back in the mix).
The Yankees wrote (via X) on August 21: “• Placed INF Ryan McMahon on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to 8/20) with a left thumb sprain.”
Kay Makes Honest Jones Statement
GettySpencer Jones #78 of the New York Yankees in action during the game against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on August 12, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
In a recent episode of The Michael Kay Show, Kay spoke about Jones.
Kay: “People asked me, ‘What move do you think the Yankees are going to make?’ And I said, ‘They’re going to send down Spencer Jones.’ I didn’t say they should. I didn’t say I want them to. I said that that’s the prudent move because you could bring them up in seven days when the rosters expand to 28. You only lose him for seven days. If you don’t send down Jones, then you would have to release Amed Rosario. And they weren’t going to do that… Now that became a moot point when McMahon went on the IL. So McMahon went on the IL. They called up Max Schuemann. So then the automatic move for when Bellinger came off the IL, which was yesterday, was to send Max Schuemann down.”
Kay also added his thoughts on Jones.
Kay: “I think Spencer Jones, first of all, is a delightful kid. He is a weapon in terms of his speed on the bases. He has played a better right field than I thought that he was going to. He’s got a really good arm and he’s put some good at-bats out there. Now, his strikeouts still concern me. 64 strikeouts in 159 at-bats is an awful lot. It’s about 35%. Now, if you’re going to strike out 35% of the time, you got to be a 45-home-run guy. You have to be. Now he has seven. So maybe he would be a 45-home-run guy.”
Looking At Jones
Jones was picked in the 1st round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt.
He is in the middle of his rookie season.
The 25-year-old is batting .233 with 37 hits, seven home runs, 22 RBIs, 20 runs and eight stolen bases in 57 games.
Michael Kay Makes Honest Spencer Jones Statement Amid Yankees Roster Crunch