Former Platinum Glove winner puts out an offer Yankees, Spencer Jones must accept

There might be no more intriguing player on the New York Yankees roster heading into 2027 than Spencer Jones. Intrigue has been the story of Jones' entire professional career, though many of the questions swirling around him now are different than the ones that have followed him since the Yankees drafted him in the first round out of Vanderbilt in 2022.

For much of his time in the pros, the loudest question has been whether or not Jones could limit his strikeouts and make enough contact so that his raw power could play in the bigs. Additionally, his ability to handle lefty pitching was a particular concern. He's begun to answer the question about southpaws with flying colors, and with a .742 OPS in 2026, his 36.3% strikeout rate didn't erase his ability to produce. There's still work to be done here, but it's almost become an afterthought behind a new concern.

The six-foot-seven Jones runs like a deer, and his ability to play center field was never much of a question. That is, until he made it to the majors. The 25-year-old posted a mark of -4 in both defensive saved and outs above average in just 315 1/3 innings at the position. That's a horrifying full-season trajectory.

That caused the rumblings to start. The Yankees were allegedly highly interested in Washington Nationals glove-first outfielder Jacob Young before the Nationals spoiled that plan by extending him. There's a feeling now that Jones won't be guaranteed the center field job in 2027.

What we see here is a talented youngster who desperately needs to level up a key aspect of his game. With Young off the board, there really aren't any true center field alternatives. Steven Kwan is a risky play who is more of a corner outfielder than a center fielder. Tyrone Taylor is a quality fourth outfielder, but not much more. Trent Grisham is as good as gone, and Luis Robert Jr. is a fool's errand.

The easiest path forward for New York is seeing Jones make massive strides in the field to better align with the initial assessments of his defense.

The problem is, the Yankees don't have many avenues to help the rising outfielder this winter. MLB is heading for a lockout beginning on December 1, and while it's in effect, teams will be prohibited from communicating with players, much less allowing them to use their training facilities.

Help might be on the way in the form of a former division rival and Platinum Glove winner, Kevin Kiermaier.

The Yankees need to send Spencer Jones to train with Kevin Kiermaier all winter if necessary

The four-time Gold Glover took to social media to let interested parties know that he'll make his services available this winter, coaching up young outfielders in hopes of leveling them up defensively.

"I see so many outfielders out there who just need help, who are a defensive upgrade away from becoming that much better of a player. Where that team can trust you to be out there for 27 outs," Kiemaier said in a video posted to Twitter/X. "Look, this is just an area that is so near and dear to my heart. I'm so passionate about it. I was really good at it, and I'm really good at teaching it. And, you know, last year I tried targeting the teams. I made myself available for all 30 [MLB teams]."

Notably, Kiermaier worked with Pittsburgh Pirates star Oneil Cruz on his defense last winter. Cruz is remarkably similar to Jones, both in terms of body type (both players are six-foot-seven and check in at 240-plus pounds) and athletic profile. They both also struggled to harness their incredible athleticism into defensive excellence.

Outside of Cruz, though, Kiermaier didn't have much luck getting teams to let him work with their outfielders, as they wanted to either hire him full-time or have him stay away from their players.

"What I'm going to try to do now moving forward, just putting it out there, I'm going to try to target individuals and their agents to guys who I think are a defensive upgrade away, who just could become that much better of a player. There's a lot of money to be made, a lot of plays to be made, and if you're into these things, and you need a little help or some guidance, I am the one. I am the one to help," Kiermaier added.

Cruz went from -14 DRS over 1061 1/3 innings in 2025 to -7 DRS over 756 1/3 innings in his injury-shortened 2026 campaign. At that pace, he would have shown a marginal improvement, coming in at just under -10 DRS if he kept pace over 2025's workload. That's not exactly conclusive, but there are a lot of variables that can't truly be accounted for.

What we do know is this: Kiermaier was one of the best in recent memory to play center field, and he certainly seems willing to help. For Jones and the Yankees, his offer seems like a dream come true. There's nothing to lose and everything to gain, and Jones could seriously level up if he could translate his physical gifts into plus defense in center.

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