MLB Trade Rumors broke the news that the Cubs have brought in Greg Jones on a minor league pact, the kind of low-key roster move that barely makes a ripple in July but says something about how the front office is thinking with the deadline bearing down.
MLB Trade Rumors flagged the Cubs' minor league addition of Greg Jones.
Jones isn't a household name, but he's got a pedigree. Tampa Bay took him 22nd overall in the 2019 draft out of UNC Wilmington, and for a stretch he was one of the more electrifying tools-and-speed prospects in that farm system, pairing plus wheels with shortstop actions. Across 7 minor league seasons he's slashed.264/.353/.430 with 193 stolen bases, the kind of burner profile teams love to have sitting in Triple-A when September call-ups and pinch-running situations come around.
The road since the draft hasn't been smooth. Injuries to his shoulder, knee, quad and hamstring chewed up chunks of multiple seasons, and Jones has bounced from the Rays to the Rockies to the White Sox to the Brewers without ever locking down a big league job. He got a taste of the majors with Colorado in 2024, picked up a cup of coffee with the White Sox after a waiver claim, and most recently was designated for assignment by Milwaukee after hitting just.087 in 12 games before electing free agency.
Landing with the Cubs on a minor deal is about as low-stakes as a transaction gets, but that's exactly the point. Chicago gets to stash a former first-rounder with legitimate speed and defensive versatility down in the system, essentially a free look at whether there's still a big leaguer in there, while it keeps its eyes on bigger fish ahead of the deadline.
Don't expect Jones to move the needle on the North Side anytime soon. He'll head to Triple-A Iowa, where the Cubs can monitor him and see if the athleticism still plays. But moves like this are how contenders build a safety net for late-season attrition, and if Jones ever rediscovers the tools that made him a first-round pick, the Cubs will have gotten him for nothing.