Former Saluki catcher Matt Jones promised his grandma Elaine Jones she would be the first person he told if a major league organization ever signed him.

On Monday, Jones was able to keep that promise.

The Arizona Diamondbacks purchased Jones’ contract Monday from the Southern Illinois Miners of the Frontier League.

“She’s always been there for me,” he said. “She’s always been into sports and she’s followed me through all the years and it’s one of those things where we have a special bond.”

Diamondbacks scout Chris Carminucci is a friend of Miners coach Mike Pinto. Carminucci asked Pinto to recommend players to invite to try out at Windy Cities Stadium in Crestwood. Pinto recommended Jones because of his good season and his age.

Pinto said Jones hit a home run at the tryout and was doing everything right. But Pinto had more options for Jones if Arizona did not work out.

“We had also arranged for him to have a tryout with the Tampa Bay Rays a week from now,” Pinto said. “When he went over to thank the people from the Diamondbacks for having him at the tryout, they said to him ‘You won’t be heading to the Rays tryout next week.’”

Jones played with the Salukis for two seasons before signing with the Miners.

He hit .282 with four home runs and 63 RBIs during his Saluki career. He signed with the Miners on June 12 after catcher Jose Gonzalez’s contract was purchased by the Colorado Rockies.

Jones hit .301 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 28 games with the Miners.

“Mike Pinto was able to get me into the Diamondbacks tryout for Independent players and I was able to go there and perform. They liked what they saw and signed me.”

Jones told the rest of his family before it was announced to the public. He said two of his uncles played baseball professionally, his grandpa Bernie Lehnerz was happy to keep the tradition in the family.

“It’s an exciting moment in my life,” Jones said. “It’s what I’ve always dreamed about.”

Along with Jones, the Diamondbacks signed relief pitcher Stew Brase from the Miners. Brase was 1-2 with a 1.43 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched this season.

Brase played with the Chicago White Sox farm system from 2011 to 2013, and reached high Single-A.

“I’m just as excited as I was the first time around to get a shot and make my childhood dream come true in playing in the big leagues,” Brase said.

Pinto said he still has seven months to figure out how he is going to replace Jones, but he is happy for him more than anything.

“This could not have been more deserved,” Pinto said. “He worked really hard this year. He’s a better guy than he is player. We loved his attitude and how hard he worked. From a personal standpoint, forget the baseball part of it, I couldn’t be happier for a really good guy to get this opportunity.”

Aaron Graff can be contacted at [email protected], on Twitter @Aarongraff_DE or at 536-3311 ext. 269