Major League Baseball

James Jones eager to prove worth to Mariners after call-up

Published Jun. 16, 2015 9:27 a.m. ET

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On Monday, the Seattle Mariners promoted speedy outfielder James Jones from Triple-A Tacoma to replace reliever Danny Farquhar on the roster (as Farquhar was optioned back down). 

For Jones, who was up for a sizable portion of the 2014 season, this marks the first time he's been called up to the Mariners in 2015. 

As Shannon Drayer of ESPN Seattle points out, Jones' tenure in Seattle last season inspired him to re-evaluate his game and work on a few 'problem areas' in order to become a more well-rounded player. 

In 108 games with the '14 Mariners, Jones hit .250/.278/.311 - but didn't get on base as much as most hitters with his skill set should. As he told Drayer, he figured out some reasons why that was the case: "I realized most of the time I was too picky at pitches that I could have put in play and used my legs. I've opened up my zone in the middle of the plate rather than favoring one of the sides or guessing. I know my hand speed is good enough to get there. It's more simple now. My mind is free, I know how to stay more aggressive in the zone and let the pitchers come to me."

Manager Lloyd McClendon is hopeful he'll see a more complete player this time around, adding, "I think he handled it pretty good last year. I think he will be a more relaxed player this time around in a lot of different ways and probably help us even more. Let's hope so."

(h/t My Northwest)

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