LAKELAND, Fla. – Another morning.

Another bag to pack Jahmai Jones.

Two buses were idling outside the Tigers facility on Monday morning, waiting to whisk the Tigers to Tampa for an afternoon game against the New York Yankees, a 10-2 loss.

Inside the Tigers clubhouse, Jones stood in front of his locker, shoved stuff in a bag and slipped on his uniform, getting ready for another road trip.

Jones has played so often this spring that it’s become a running joke with manager A.J. Hinch.

“If they tell me I'm playing, I'm never gonna say no to playing,” Jones said, Monday morning. “A.J. and I've had conversations about it, and we laugh. I'm good. I'm healthy. I can't complain at all.”

Jones did play against the Yankees on Monday − his 12^th appearance of the spring, the second most on the team, just one less than Andrew Navigato.

This is the life of somebody who is fighting for a spot on a team.

“He's showing some toughness,” Hinch said of Jones on Sunday. “We're playing him a lot. Those guys that are in in his situation don't get the luxury of a lot of trips off or a lot of days off. And he's trying to do his best to make an impression.”

Oh, he has made an impression all right.

Jahmai Jones overcame losing his Detroit Lion father to become a Detroit Tiger

On Sunday, Jones went 2-for-3 and scored a couple of runs in a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburg Pirates.

He has impressed with his ability to drive in runs. Jones has eight RBI, which leads the team.

He has showed some pop in his bat, cranking two homers – second to only Spencer Torkelson who has one more.

And he has impressed with his ability to run the bases, scoring a team-high eight runs.

One could argue that Jones has racked up so many impressive stats because he’s getting so much playing time.

And that is true. But he’s also making the most of his opportunity.

“He's stating a case to be on this team, and that's all you can ask players to do,” Hinch said.

Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize offer great lesson for Max Clark and Kevin McGonigle

It’s wild, how things can change in a matter of weeks.

Jones, the son of a Detroit Lion, was a longshot to make the Tigers at the start of spring training. In other words, no realistic shot unless some guys went down with injuries.

Which is exactly what has happened.

Parker Meadows, the Tigers fantastic centerfielder, played in the first game of spring training but he was injured while throwing and he hasn’t played since.

Right now, it doesn't appear Meadows will be on the Opening Day roster. Because even if he recovers from a nerve issue, he still needs to ramp up. And it's likely the Tigers will not rush him. The Tigers are running out of time to do that, unless Meadows starts baseball activities soon.

To make the situation more complicated, Matt Vierling will miss Opening Day with an injury.

As if this situation couldn’t get murkier, Wenceel Perez has missed seven games in a row with low back tightness.

And all of that uncertainty has opened the door for somebody like Jones.

MSU's Trent Farquhar is beating the odds with Phillies, proving MLB draft experts wrong

Originally, the Tigers were drawn to Jones because of his versatility – he can play both on the infield and in the outfield.

But they have asked him to concentrate on outfield because that is where the opportunity is.

“I  played a couple of games at second,” he said. “But due to some injuries and due to what's been going on, it just seems like the smarter thing would, for now, for me to just be in the outfield. And Hinch asked me how I felt about it. And I said, 'whatever you need me to do.'

'And I truthfully mean that. So when they came to me and told me that, I was fine with it. It gives me a chance to make it."

When the Tigers signed Jones, they gave him specific instructions.

“One of the things we told him when he got here is that he's got to hit left-handed pitching and he's got to be an aggressive base runner,” Hinch said. “Those are the two things that we were drawn to. … and he’s taken it to heart.”

On Sunday, Jones produced a run basically because of his speed.

Dietrich Enns might be next Detroit Tigers pitching project gem

Facing lefty Andrew Heaney, Jones beat out an infield single.  After Andy Ibanez singled to right field, Jones took off for third.

Then, Jones scored on a sacrifice fly by Gleyber Torres.

That's what speed will do.

And it will also do this: later, Jones hit a triple.

“He's crushing left handed pitching,” Hinch said. “He's being a very aggressive base runner.”

So, there’s his case to make this team.

He’s doing exactly what they want and need.

“It's definitely been a good opportunity to have," Jones said. "Any chance you get to make a big-league roster is a special opportunity.

"So all I'm focused on is, honestly just taking a day at a time and not putting too much pressure on everything and doing everything they asked me. Come the end of camp, we'll see how the chips fall. But I don't think anything's a lock.”

Meanwhile, Navigato is also making a case, hitting .421 in 13 games with a homer and three doubles.

“I don't know how the rosters will shake up,” Jones said. “I'm just trying to do everything I can to make a case and make a decision hard on somebody.”

That’s exactly what he’s doing.

While doing exactly what they want.

Why in the world did Detroit Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle run out to third base?

Contact Jeff Seidel: [email protected]. Follow him on X @seideljeff

This story was updated to add a video and gallery.  

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Son of Detroit Lion making case to be put on Tigers Opening Day roster