Garrett Jones (neck) grounded out in his return to action Monday against the Twins.

Jones hadn't played in a Grapefruit League game since last Wednesday due to neck stiffness. The 29-year-old is batting .219 (7-for-32) with three doubles and seven RBI this spring.

Garrett Jones went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles Sunday versus the Rays.

He hit sixth behind Lyle Overbay today. Jones drove in 86 runs last season, but he hit just .247/.306/.414 in the process. Maybe that line will improve this year since he's no longer expected to start against left-handers, but he can't afford a slow start. He's a poor bet in NL-only leagues.

Garrett Jones has lost about 10 pounds this offseason in an effort to gain more mobility in his move to the outfield.

Jones, who now weighs around 245 pounds, said he's "a little bit faster, too." Perhaps a slimmer Jones will steal a few more bases (he had 24 between Triple-A and the big leagues in 2009 before notching just seven in 2010), but his playing time will be severely cut this season. He'll platoon in right field with Matt Diaz while Lyle Overbay handles first base.

Garrett Jones returned to action on Tuesday September 21.

Garrett Jones (shoulder) struck out as a pinch-hitter Sunday.

Jones is expected to miss a couple consecutive starts this week due to a sore shoulder, injured while making a diving grab last week.

Garrett Jones returned to action on Sunday September 19.

Garret Jones was held out Saturday with a sore right shoulder.

Jones injured the shoulder on a slide in New York earlier this week and aggravated it while making a diving attempt at a ball on Friday night. The first baseman shouldn't be out for more than a day or two.

Garret Jones had two hits - a single and a double - Tuesday night in a win against the Braves.

Jones not walking as much this year, and some poor batted ball luck has kept his batting average down. The power is still above-average, though, so he'll get time in that poor Pittsburgh lineup and is an okay deep league option.

The slumping Garrett Jones was out of the lineup Friday.

Jones is batting a measly .132 in his past 21 games to lower is season average to .253. "Garrett's trying to do too much right now," Pirates manager John Russell said. "He's one of those guys who really tries to carry the team on his shoulders, and maybe he just needs a breather." Jones' slash stats of .253/.314/.419 are more indicative of his true ability than his surprising play last year.

Garrett Jones is not involved in any pending trade, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

There had been some speculation with Jeff Clement and Argenis Diaz being recalled Saturday morning that Jones could possibly be on the way out. That doesn't appear to be the case, though it doesn't mean you should completely close the book on Jones being dealt.

Garrett Jones went 4-for-4 with two homers and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Rockies.

Jones came up a triple short of the cycle. It's his second multi-homer game this season -- but the first one came way back on Opening Day. Jones' 14 homers and 60 RBI to date are far more than even the Pirates probably expected. He's liable to go through long cold spells the rest of the season.

Garrett Jones went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and two RBI in a loss to the Giants on Sunday.

Jones, who seemed to be playing way over his head last year considering his minor-league track record, had seen a major power outage over the first couple months of the season. His bat seems to be awakening now, though, as he's gone deep three times in his past five games.

Garrett Jones homered in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth as the Pirates beat the Cubs 2-1 on Monday.

Jones doubled in the eighth and came around to score on Bobby Crosby's single. His homer was just his third in seven weeks. He was down to .255/.336/.391 for the season, which isn't so far off from what his minor league numbers suggested he'd hit before he came up last year and suddenly set the NL on fire. The Pirates remain committed to him, but he's not a very good bet going forward.

Garrett Jones went 3-for-4 with an RBI against the Phillies in Tuesday's 2-1 victory.

With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth inning and Lastings Milledge on second base, Jones singled to right center off Roy Halladay to plate the game-winning run. Pittsburgh was only able to nickel-and-dime Doc, with Jones acting as the poster child with his three singles, but it was enough to escape with the victory.

Garrett Jones is out of the Pirates' lineup against the Cubs on Sunday.

Jones went 5-for-6 in the first game of the series, but 0-for-4 on Saturday. He was replaced in right field by Ryan Church.

Garrett Jones is back in the Pirates lineup after missing Saturday's game.

Jones nearly choked on a piece of food Friday night and had to be admitted to the hospital on Saturday with something caught in his esophagus. 24 hours later, he appears to be no worse for the wear and he'll be back at first base.

Garret Jones was scratched from Saturday's lineup after nearly choking on a piece of food on Friday night.

Jones had to spend the day in the hospital. He's batting .207/.353/.378 in 82 at-bats this season and should be back in the lineup on Sunday.

Garrett Jones' bases loaded, walk-off single against the Reds propelled the Pirates to a 5-4 victory.

Jones' hit off Reds closer Francisco Cordero was a blast that nearly left the park for a grand slam. It was his only hit of the game. He is now hitting .225/.347/.475 on the season.

Garrett Jones homered in his first two at-bats Monday as part of the Pirates' 11-5 win over the Dodgers.

The Dodgers closed to within 8-5 in the seventh, but Ryan Doumit shut down their hopes of a comeback with a three-run homer off George Sherrill in the eighth. Jones now has 25 career homers, even though he's still a few at-bats short of 500 for his career. He'll keep hitting for power in the middle of the Pirates' lineup. He doesn't figure to match his .293 average from last season, though.