masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSARASOTA, Fla. – Adam Jones sat at his locker this morning and waited for the wave of reporters to roll in, the Dexter Fowler controversy still fresh and relevant.
Fowler indicated to Jones on Wednesday that he was headed to Sarasota. He ended up in Arizona yesterday, back with the Cubs and insisting that he never had an agreement with the Orioles.
“I know him personally, so it’s good,” Jones said. “We’re moving on. We’ve moved on, he’s moved on.
“We’ve got a big day ahead of us today….

SARASOTA, Fla. – Adam Jones sat at his locker this morning and waited for the wave of reporters to roll in, the Dexter Fowler controversy still fresh and relevant.

Fowler indicated to Jones on Wednesday that he was headed to Sarasota. He ended up in Arizona yesterday, back with the Cubs and insisting that he never had an agreement with the Orioles.

“I know him personally, so it’s good,” Jones said. “We’re moving on. We’ve moved on, he’s moved on.

“We’ve got a big day ahead of us today. It’s a game of adjustments, you move on. I love the guys that we have here in-house. I think we have a terrific team, so cool.

jones-confused-orange-alcs-sidebar.jpg“I think that by him not agreeing to it, it opened up money at the All-Star break or at the deadline. And it gives other guys in here a chance, so it’s not that you’re outsourcing. It gives guys that are already in this clubhouse an opportunity.”

Fowler walked away from the Orioles’ three-year, $33 million offer to accept a one-year, $8 million contract with the Cubs, a deal that also includes a $9 million mutual option and $5 million buyout.

Is it strange for a player to take less money in free agency?

“I don’t know, I’ve never been in that predicament,” Jones said, grinning. “At the end of the day, he’s happy where he’s at and that’s the most important thing. My career is here. At the end of the day, I just want to face them.

“No, it’s his career, it’s not mine.”

Fowler’s decision caught Jones by surprise. “Very much,” he said.

“I came in here and found out and was like, ‘OK.’ There’s not much I can do about it. I can cry about it, but it’s not going to do much for us. At the end of the day, he’s happy where he’s at, his family is happy in Chicago, so good for him.

“I don’t find my news on Twitter. Came here and someone told me. They probably found out from it.”

Asked whether he felt deceived, Jones replied, “No, I don’t care. It’s not my fault. It’s not up to me.

“He’s happy where he’s at. That’s all that matters. He’s happy, and as a friend of his, if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

Jones spoke to Fowler last night and said the conversation went “great.” It didn’t include an apology from the almost Oriole.

“We’re grown men, man,” Jones said. “Grown men shouldn’t say, ‘Sorry.’ “