SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who had spoken with Dexter Fowler on Wednesday and said the outfielder was excited about joining Baltimore, said Friday morning there's no hard feelings that Fowler instead decided to re-sign with the Cubs on Thursday.
"I know him personally, so it's good," Jones said. "We are moving on. We've moved on, he's moved on. We got a big day ahead of us today. It's a game of adjustments, you move on. … I love the guys that we have here in-house, I think we have a terrific team. So, cool. I think that by him not agreeing to it, it opened up money at the All-Star break or at the [Trade] Deadline. And it gives other guys in here a chance. So it's not that you're outsourcing. It gives guys that are already in this clubhouse an opportunity."
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Jones has never dealt with free agency, and he said he didn't know how unusual it was for a player to take less money and fewer years elsewhere. Fowler -- who was offered three years, $33 million by Baltimore but requested an opt-out clause -- will make $8 million in 2016 and has a $9 million option for '17, with a $5 million buyout if the option is declined.
"At the end of the day, he's happy where he's at and that's the most important thing," Jones said of Fowler. "It's his career. It's not mine. My career is here."
Jones did say he was surprised to get the news on Thursday afternoon that Fowler was in Arizona with the Cubs.
"I came in here and found out and was like, 'OK'. There's not much I can do about it," Jones said. "I can cry about it, but it's not going to do much for us. At the end of the day, he's happy where he's at, his family is happy in Chicago. So good for him."
Jones, who spoke with Fowler on Thursday night, said he didn't necessarily feel deceived.
"It's not my fault. It's not up to me," Jones said. "He's happy where he's at. That's all that matters. He's happy. And as a friend of his, if he's happy, I'm happy."