Rays trade SS/OF Greg Jones to Rockies for LHP Joe Rock
The trade clears a spot on the 40-man roster.
The Rays have traded prospect SS/OF Greg Jones, the 22nd overall pick in the 2019 draft, to the Colorado Rockies for prospect LHP Joe Rock.
Jones was not expected to play a key role on the Rays this year, with his results at the plate lagging considerably behind what the Rays expect for their platoon or bench hitters, although he did reach a 101 wRC+ in his time spent at Triple-A last year.
It’s unfortunate the Rays were not able to get the expected value out of such a high selection in the draft; however, turning a 40-man rostered prospect with poor performance at the plate into anything is a nice piece of work by the Rays front office.
Rock also has pedigree, in that he was the 68th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and has been developed as a fast moving starting pitcher in the Rockies system. He made 19 starts at Double-A in 2023 (4.50 ERA, 4.02 FIP), and one additional start in Triple-A.
Rock throws from a remarkably low arm slot, and from the left side, giving his overall look something unique as a 6’6” lefty — think shades of Chris Sale, although not as dramatic:
Unfortunately, the arm action needs some work if he’s to have any durability. Right now it would appear his elbow reaches back above the shoulder line in his delivery, which can lead to injury, but he’s only entering his age 23 season.
Rock ranked 26th on the Baseball America top-30 for the Rockies this off-season, receiving the following writeup:
Scouting Report: Rock is a big-bodied lefthander who stands at an imposing 6-foot-6, with feel for a three-pitch mix. He mixes two-seam fastball, slider and a changeup, and everything shows heavy horizontal movement due to his low-three quarters slot. His two-seamer sits between 92-93 mph and touches 94 with heavy armside run. Rock’s most-used secondary is a mid-80s gyro slider he shows above-average feel to throw. It generates whiffs in the zone and gets lots of ugly chase swings. Rock’s changeup sits between 86-88 mph with heavy armside run and good vertical separation from his fastball. Rock has shown fringe-average strike-throwing skills with a chance to develop into average command.
Scouting Grades Fastball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45
Depending on how well the Rays can continue to develop his fastball and change at the higher levels will drive the value Rock brings, but as things stand he could be ticketed to Triple-A Durham.