Free agents are flying off the board across Major League Baseball this week, and the San Diego Padres officially said farewell to one of their less heralded signings from a year ago.
Right-handed pitcher Stephen Jones signed a minor-league deal with the Padres on Jan. 30 of last year, following his release from the Colorado Rockies organization. Jones pitched reasonably well in the Padres farm system, but never wound up earning his first promotion to the majors.
Because he was eligible to elect free agency at the end of the season, it made sense that Jones’ stint as a Padre might last just one year if he found an opportunity that he thought would give him higher odds of reaching the big leagues. Earlier this week, the 28-year-old found that opportunity.
On Tuesday, Jones signed a minor-league deal with the Miami Marlins, according to the transactions log on his official roster page. He also received a non-roster invite to spring training in Florida.
Jones, who was the Rockies’ 21st-round pick out of Samford in 2019, has done well to get himself to the doorstep of the majors. He put up great numbers at Double-A Hartford in 2022 and 2023, but cratered when he was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque and the notoriously offense-dominant Pacific Coast League.
The Rockies released Jones after he put up an ERA over 13 in 52 2/3 innings in Triple-A spread across two seasons. Last year, he spent more time in Double-A as a Padre, where he posted a 3.64 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings.
Miami is still in the relatively early stages of a rebuild, so Jones could theoretically win a roster spot in the majors, either at the end of spring training or early in the regular season, if he acquits himself well. But the odds are always stacked against a pitcher his age who hasn’t yet broken through to the big leagues.
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