Jones on trade and contract talks

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones knew when he saw reporters today that someone would ask him about all the trade talk in which his name has surfaced in recent weeks. "I knew that question was coming. No one has ever talked to me about it, so I think, rumors are what they are. Leave it at that, nothing more I can say about it," Jones said. Jones was asked if he was open to discussing a contract extension if the Orioles approach him this winter.

"That's up to them, the ball is in their court. Nothing is up to me. I'm under team control for two years," he said. Jones said that any speculation that, as a West Coast guy, he is not open to a contract extension is just not accurate. "I like Baltimore. I've planted some roots here and I like working in the city. If I am fortunate enough to be here a long time, I can build trees from those roots. I'm from California, but that doesn't mean anything about my career. I just live in California," he said. Jones was asked if he thinks the team will be approaching him about an extension soon. "I guess we'll see. We've got plenty of time, we've got two years. The next few weeks leading up to spring training, it will be interesting to see how that all turns out," he said. I asked Jones if he is a player that would prefer to not have any contract talks after opening day. "A lot of people say that. I don't know how that personally would affect me. I just don't know," Jones said.