Spencer Jones has held his own. Will the Yankees hold onto him?

CHICAGO — As the wind swirled and the flags flapped at Wrigley Field, Spencer Jones drilled a ball that could not be swayed by the breeze on Friday.

With a 108.7 mph, 418 foot rocket to right center, the left-handed hitter cleared the ivy with ease for the fourth home run of his young career. The solo shot, hit off Chicago Cubs southpaw Shota Imanaga, who has neutral splits, was also Jones’ first longball against a left-handed pitcher.

“It was awesome to get a pitch to handle, and then obviously the result was cool,” Jones, who hasn’t gotten too many opportunities against lefties, said after the New York Yankees’ 2-0 win. “I feel like there’s been pick-your-spots and limited opportunities [vs. lefties], but just like any other pitcher, you gotta go up there and do what you do. I felt comfortable in the box today.”

The rookie outfielder must have felt cozy at the plate in Saturday’s 5-2 loss as well, because he hit his second homer off a lefty in as many days in the seventh inning. This time, Jones made the Cubs’ David Peterson the victim of an opposite field, bases-empty blast that cut through the twisting Chicago air at 106 mph.

Jones has actually looked comfortable most days since his second major league call-up on June 5.

While he struggled after his first promotion in May — he hit .167 with a .426 OPS, zero extra-base hits and a 44.4 K% over 10 games — he has more than held his own since that first cup of coffee. Prior to Saturday, Jones had hit .262 with an .859 OPS, four homers and 10 RBI over his last 27 MLB games, which were spread across two more call-ups. He cut his strikeout rate down to 36.5% over that span.

Jones’ improvements with in-zone contact have been on display this week, as his homers off Imanaga, Peterson and Chicago White Sox righty Davis Martin came on pitches over the heart of the plate. On one hand, those are the offerings that the 6-7 Jones is supposed to do damage on. On the other, it’s encouraging to see him capitalize on them after his swing-and-miss tendencies consistently dinged his standing as a prospect.

“I feel like I see him making subtle adjustments within the game and whatever the situation’s kind of calling for a little bit,” Aaron Boone said after Jones also battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk on Friday. “I thought he’d match up pretty well against Imanaga today, and he had a few really good at-bats.

“He’s done a nice job.”

The question now is whether Jones will continue to do that job for the Yankees. With Monday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline looming, rumors mentioning the 25-year-old are swirling just like the wind at Wrigley.

That’s nothing new for Jones, as the monstrous power numbers he’s posted in the minors the last few years, combined with his speed and athleticism, have made the former first-round pick a sought-after trade chip, even with some concerns over how his swing would play at the highest level.

Now that he’s producing in the majors, albeit over a limited sample, he’s all the more intriguing. Not just for prospective suitors, but also for a Yankees team that desperately needs offense and help in the outfield.

While the Yankees are looking for an outfield bat in a thin market ahead of the deadline, preferably one who hits from the right side, there’s a path to continued playing time for Jones with Aaron Judge (fractured rib), Giancarlo Stanton (multiple calf strains) and Cody Bellinger (hamstring strain) stuck on the injured list. Meanwhile, Jasson Domínguez, another young outfielder who has garnered trade interest over the years, hasn’t performed, hitting .229 with a .656 OPS, six home runs and 14 RBI over 51 games. He’s also remained a liability on defense, as demonstrated on Saturday when he misplayed a seventh-inning Pete Crow-Armstrong RBI triple, which bounced off the wall down the right field line at Wrigley.

If the Yankees had to make a choice on demoting Domínguez or Jones today, it’s clear who the choice should be.

It’s also easy to imagine how Jones fits in beyond this season with the struggling Trent Grisham returning to free agency and no longer an elite center fielder. While Jones hasn’t looked overly impressive while bouncing between the three outfield positions in the majors, he had a strong defensive rep in the minors and has the speed to play center.

Keep in mind, the Yankees don’t trust Domínguez in center, and Judge and Bellinger’s lofty contracts have them locked into the corners for the foreseeable future. Jones, should he survive the trade deadline and continue to hit, could be a cost-effective, long-term option in the middle of the Yankees’ outfield.

Of course, that’s all hypothetical right now, and some dust still has to settle before Monday's deadline. In the meantime, Jones, accustomed to the trade chatter by now, is just focused on continued improvement.

“I trust the approach, the routine, all those things,” he said, “and for me, it just felt like a matter of time to start connecting with some of those pitches instead of fouling them off. I think [I gotta] just maintain what we’re doing now and keep rolling.”

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Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →