Brewers sign former second-round pick

The Brewers announced Monday that they’ve signed infielder Jahmai Jones and added him directly to their 26-man major league roster. Infielder/outfielder Brian Anderson was placed on the paternity list in a corresponding roster move. Jones, an ACES client, opted out of a minor league contract with the Dodgers over the weekend.

Jones, 26 next month, was a second-round pick by the Angels back in 2015 and long rated as one of the Halos’ best prospects, even cracking most top-100 lists heading into the 2018 season. He’s only logged 29 games in the big leagues to this point, hitting just .176/.228/.216 in 79 trips to the plate during that tiny sample, most of which came with the 2021 Orioles.

Struggles in that small collection of big league games notwithstanding, Jones has a strong Triple-A track record, including an excellent .293/.428/.543 slash in 263 plate appearances with the Dodgers’ top affiliate in 2023. He’s clubbed nine homers, connected on 20 doubles and added three triples this season, walking at a massive 17.5% clip against a 20.9% strikeout rate.

Jones has primarily played second base in his professional career, but he does have nearly 1700 innings of experience in center field and another 369 frames in left field, so he could have some utility appeal for the Brewers in the short-term. Owen Miller has played first base, second base and third base for the Brewers this season, and he’ll likely step in at the hot corner while Anderson is on the paternity list for up to three days. Jones could be an option there as well, though he has just nine innings at third base since being drafted.