66 James Jones RP

Jones tore his right patellar tendon while at home Monday in Arizona and has been ruled out for the 2020 season, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

According to Grant, Jones suffered the injury while tripping over one of his son's toys. The outfielder-turned-lefty pitcher had been attending Rangers camp as a non-roster invitee and was expected to open the season at Triple-A Nashville before the injury surfaced. He underwent surgery Wednesday and will turn his focus to rehabbing his knee before returning to the mound for the start of spring training in 2021.

Jones signed a minor-league contract with the Rangers on Thursday as a non-roster invitee.

Jones underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016, but he has spent time in the Rangers' organization since then. The 31-year-old posted a 2.45 ERA last year with Triple-A Nashville and will get to compete in major-league spring training ahead of the 2020 season.

The Rangers re-signed Jones to a minor-league contract, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Jones will continue his transformation from outfielder to pitcher, one that started in 2016. Injuries and wildness have impacted that transition. The 30-year-old left-hander owns a 7.61 ERA while giving up 53 hits and 23 walks over 36.2 innings.

Jones (elbow) recently underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2017 season but has signed a minor-league contract with Texas for next season, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Jones converted to pitching this season, showing enough promise to remain under contract for 2017 despite the fact that he'll miss the entire season rehabbing his elbow,

Jones was placed on the DL with an elbow impingement, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The club's plan of converting Jones to a pitcher will have to wait, as he's heading to the DL with an injured throwing arm. When the southpaw is healthy again, he'll likely resume throwing at Single-A Hickory.

Jones is being converted to the mound, according to Jamey Newberg of the Newberg Report.

Jones, a lefty, sat in the low-to-mid 90s as a pitcher in college, and this appears to be his best chance of getting back to the big leagues. Typically when position players are converted to pitchers it is in a relief role, as they don't have time to learn more than one secondary pitch (typically a slider). In time, Jones could serve as a hard-throwing lefty for the Rangers.

Jones was reassigned to minor league camp Saturday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The Rangers are set in the outfield at the major league level with Ian Desmond, Delino DeShields Jr., and Shin-Soo Choo all ready to start the season, leaving Jones as a likely candidate to spend the year in the minors. The 27-year-old center fielder had a solid showing this spring with a .310 average with two home runs, a double, and a triple over 42 at-bats. He'll provide organizational depth at Round Rock or Frisco.

Jones signed a minor league deal with the Rangers on Thursday that includes an invite to spring training.

He was acquired in the Leonys Martin trade with Seattle, and then non-tendered, so the Rangers found a way to bring him back without using a 40-man spot. Jones is a great athlete, but he is still working on being a skilled baseball player. Look for him to spend most of the year at Triple-A, as the Rangers have a lot of organizational outfield depth.

Jones went non-tendered by the Rangers on Wednesday, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.

Jones had only been a Ranger for about two weeks before they decided to not tender him a contract. He came to the Rangers through a five-player trade with the Mariners. Even though the Rangers decided not to tender Jones, they expressed interest in signing him to a minor league deal instead.

The Mariners dealt Jones to the Rangers in a five-player trade Monday.

Jones joined Tom Wilhelmsen and a player to be named later in exchange for Leonys Martin and Anthony Bass. Expect Jones to serve as a depth outfielder in Texas, after coming off a season in which he spent much of the campaign in Triple-A Tacoma, putting together a .272/.365/.381 slash line with 25 stolen bases at the affiliate.