John Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports the Yankees have reached an agreement with Andruw Jones:
The Yankees have reached an agreement with veteran outfielder Andruw Jones on a one-year deal worth $2 million plus $1.2 million in performance bonuses.
Jones, 33, is a veteran of 15 seasons in which he has made five All-Star teams and won 10 Gold Glove awards. Jones spent the first 12 years of his career with the Braves and has since spent one year each with the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox. He batted .230 with 19 home runs and 48 RBIs for Chicago in 2010.
The Yankees interest in Jones has been reported for the past several weeks, so the deal isn’t a shocker. The current plan seems to use him as a right-handed power bat off the bench, largely filling Marcus Thames‘ role from last year. Jones is a definite improvement over Thames in the field – heck, my grandmother would probably be an improvement. While he doesn’t have Gold Glove type range any longer, he has played to a positive UZR (defensive rating) the past few seasons. With the stick, Jones’ career .863 OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) compares favorably to Thames’.838 mark against left-handed pitching. Last year, Jones’ OPS against lefties was an astounding .931, 125 points higher than Thames’ .806. He had a terrible May and June, hitting only .168, but was a solid contributor every other month of the season – including producing a .385/.515/.615 slash line down the stretch. Of course, as Yankee fans we all remember Jones as a 19 year old center fielder with the Braves in 1996, when he .400 with a pair of bombs in the Fall Classic.
This isn’t the kind of move that will win you a pennant, but it is a solid move that strengthens the Yanks bench. So, welcome to the Bronx, Mr. Jones!
M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
