Yankees Prospect Spencer Jones Says He Wants to Play in NY Amid Suarez Trade Rumors

MLB fans aren't the only ones following the rumors leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

Prospects who might be moved in deals are as well, especially if they want to stay with their organization like highly regarded outfielder Spencer Jones and the New York Yankees.

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported Tuesday that New York has been linked as a possible landing spot for Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez. However, that also may mean trading Jones even though he wants to remain with the team that selected him in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft.

"There was a post of me hitting a home run and one of the comments was, 'Get ready to speak desert, buddy,'" Jones said. "That's a really good one. I saw that and was dying laughing. That is just so good. To me, that's the really fun part about baseball at this time of year. I really like the creativity that fans have. It's awesome. I don't know if I can speak desert.

"...I was just talking to my girlfriend about this, but at the end of the day, I want to play in New York and be a part of this organization and stay loyal to it. That's a big part of who I am and where I want to go in my career."

Whether to trade a prospect like Jones for a rental like Suárez, who is only under contract for the remainder of this season, is the type of dilemma front offices of contenders face every year around this time.

After all, Jones could be the Yankees' center fielder of the future, given his impressive speed, formidable defensive profile and power at the plate. All he has done since receiving the call up to Triple-A is launch 10 home runs in 16 games, and Kirschner noted his 26 home runs across all levels of the minor leagues is tied for the most this season.

There are also some concerns, though, including his 37.6 swing-and-miss rate and 74.8 percent in-zone contact rate, which Kirschner pointed out would be second-to-last in the major leagues this year.

Jones is also 24 years old, so New York surely would want him to reach the major league level sooner rather than later if he is going to be a franchise building block for the long-term future.

It might take a prospect like Jones, who MLB.com ranks as the third-best in the organization, to land Suárez.

The third baseman made his second career All-Star Game this season and is slashing .257/.328/.605 with a National League-best 36 home runs and 86 RBI. He is arguably the top bat available at the trade deadline, and there will surely be a bidding war to acquire him.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Tuesday that the Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners have all reached out to Arizona about trading for the 34-year-old ahead of the stretch run.

The Yankees are four games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East and may need to make a major move if they are going to close that gap. Trading for Suárez would more than qualify as a major move and something that may happen in the coming days.

But that also might mean ending Jones' hopes of playing for the organization down the line.