How Jahmai Jones fills bench role perfectly for Tigers

DETROIT — Jahmai Jones knows it’s simply put, but he hates losing.

It’s part of what’s driven his play across what is now stints with five different MLB teams in his major-league career.

Jones is only six games into his time with the Detroit Tigers, but what he brings to the club is already fitting in perfectly with the role manager A.J. Hinch called the outfielder up for on June 6.

“He’s a ton of energy. We told him when he got up here we feel like he can help us win,” Hinch told reporters Saturday. “He brings a presence. He’s experienced even though his service time doesn’t match his preparedness to him.

“He’s filling the same role that we described when he came up where he’s going to get a lot important at-bats against lefties, mixed in an at-bat against a righty yesterday, that was good to see.”

Through six games Jones has at least one hit in five of his appearances (6-of-10 overall), including his first multi-hit game against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday.

Pinch hitting for Kerry Carpenter in the sixth inning with two on, Jones worked a full count to drop a dangerous grounder along the third-base line.

While Jones hustled to first with no care about what the ball was doing, solely focused on beating the throw to first, the Reds sat back and hoped the ball would veer out of play.

It never did.

“Any play like that if there’s any chance I can sniff out a knock, I’m going to. I just put my head down,” Jones told MLive. “After I hit first, I looked back and the ball was still trickling. Obviously I was happy I could help the team out there but definitely one of those moments where you get a little sigh of relief.”

That relief loaded the bases for Riley Greene to crack the game open with a bases-clearing double and led to an 11-5 victory over the Reds.

Those are the kinds of moments Jones has proved since his call up that he’s always ready for.

It’s no secret Hinch likes to get his bench players involved frequently. And Jones is an important cog in that.

The Tigers are dealing with quite a few injuries — with varying severity — which has Hinch carefully calculating rest days for his players as the long season continues.

Jones bringing energy, no matter how limited the role on a daily basis, is integral to keeping that up and retaining one of the best records in the league.

Parker Meadows was on the bench Friday night, too, and could’ve taken Carpenter’s spot. But the centerfielder is still in the process of working back from an upper-arm nerve injury suffered during spring training that kept him sidelined until the start of June.

Hinch wanted to make sure Meadows was getting his proper rest and had no trouble turning to Jones to make something happen in a key moment.

“Some of the dilemmas I have when he hits are, I’ve got Parker Meadows sitting there and I was so close to putting him in the game, because why wouldn’t you put the best centerfielder you have in the game and shift Wenceel (Pérez) over to right?” Hinch said.

“Mostly because some of the time these guys do deserve the day off, they always play. If I want to try and shield these guys from playing parts of every game, then Jahmai can go to right field and we’re fine and it works.”

There’s no telling how long Jones’ stay with the Tigers will be, particularly as utility man Matt Vierling started up a rehab assignment this weekend with Triple-A Toledo.

But Jones is proving to be exactly the impact player Hinch hoped he’d be when bringing him up to the big leagues.

“The biggest thing is just whenever my name gets called just not trying to do too much, staying within myself and put barrel on ball,” Jones said.