Should Cubs Trade Jacque Jones?

Respected Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald writes that a Jacque Jones trade is within the realm of possibility.  However, Miles does not think a Jones trade makes sense.

Miles points to the reasonable $9MM due to Jones over the next two seasons.  He mentions how Jones's left-handed bat and defense are needed.  Plus, his .284/.334/.499 performance last year was solid (the average NL RF hit .268/.345/.453). 

These are all good points.  In my opinion, the Cubs should certainly listen to offers but only if they help the team.  I know the Cubs don't want to upset the $136MM man, but he should be moved to right if Jones is dealt.  Felix Pie's defense would go a long way, and he can develop his bat with low pressure at the bottom of the order.  That alignment would make the Cubs a better team compared to the current plan.  I wrote that the Jones signing was a mistake at the time, and he proved me wrong for one season.  Why not sell high?

But who cares what I think?  Vote here on whether the Cubs should trade Jones. 

Comments

[boomshwa12]

o lord, a blog devoted to jacque jones. well at least we can cut to the chase this time

[imfromzwolle]

I think the cubs should trade Jones, if and only if, Pie is ready to make the jump to the bigs. Jones has played a decent RF in one of the more difficult RF's in the NL, but struggles mightily against left-handed pitching. I'd love to see Pie in center, but the memory of Corey Patterson remains fresh in my mind as well. If Pie is truly ready, make the move. If not, Jones is perfectly adequate in the field and a pretty good clubhouse guy.

[DentalPlan]

Sell high? Answer me this: who the hell is going to give up anything of real value for Jacque Jones? What teams need Jacque Jones? There are a few teams that could use him, but the problem is, they couldn't use him so much as to give up something useful. The best the Cubs could probably get is something like the deal they got for Sammy Sosa, two completely worthless "prospects" and maybe some kind of marginal utility guy. Which is not what an outfielder with a decent salary, good range, and who put a hurtin' on right handed pitching deserves.

There's no reason to sell Jacque Jones off for less than the Indians got for Eduardo Perez.

[bobo]

I don't get it - who plays right if they trade him? Murton or Floyd?

The problem with this team is they have 4 left fielders.

Anyway, yes, this has fantasy implications for me - where are Murton's AB going to come from? Floyd will get hurt, I'm sure, but barring injuries, he's only starting in left against lefties, right?

[integr96]

the way i see this going down follows. jones is traded at deadline to someone for a playoff run. he will be packaged with miller if prior is healthy. if prior is not healthy, then he will be packaged with howry or marshall. at least that way the cubs get a decent prospect in return. pie will finally be called up at that point.

[MarkH]

I totally agree with imfromzwolle in that there is no way the Cubs should trade Jacque unless Lou, Trammel, Perry, and Quade feel like Pie is completely ready to make the leap to "the bigs." I, too, have visions of an extremely talented Corey Patterson in my mind. However, that being said, Pie's attitude is completely different from Patterson's. Pie is less stubborn and more "teachable."

Anyway, back to Jones...
Jacque put up good numbers last season, and he did so under the very poor hitting philosophy of the previous coaching staff. Also, Jones plays a helluva lot better RF than people give him credit for. His range is well above average, and his arm was hurting.

However, for this year, I would go ahead and move Soriano to right and let him get acclimated there. It would be a mistake for the Cubs to put Pie in RF instead of taking advantage of his ability to play center.

[Aduncaroo]

I'm mostly with MarkH on this.

Bobo, if they traded Jones, they would put Sori in right and bring up Pie to play center.

I know everyone is scared of another Patterson, but I really think Pie is ready. But MarkH raises an excellent point that few people are realizing...

Why the hell are they playing Sori in center when he is just going to be moved to right by next year at the latest?? Everyone knows that Pie is going to be playing CF when he comes up. He is WELL above average defensively, and there is no chance of him playing right to keep Sori in center.

So, even if they don't trade Jones, I believe that they should be playing him in CF...he was brought up a CF and would actually play it pretty well.

By the way....Jones does play a decent to good CF...but he should be doing something about his shoulder if it hurts that bad, even if that means sitting out. I'm sorry, but when a guy throws the ball a total of 3 feet before it hits the ground at about 65 miles an hour, and does so about 5 times....thats hurting the team. Other than throwing, he played a very good RF. They say his shoulder is better, so if he can finally throw...he will be a very good value at 4.5 mil. I say keep him and let Pie come up later this year. If they are not in the race by the deadline, someone will give up a pretty decent prospect for him, as long as he is having a decent year.

[davearm]

If (when) Felix Pie is ready, the Cubs should trade Murton, not Jones.

Let Soriano play in LF, where he's best suited and most comfortable anyway.

Play Pie in CF, give Jones the starts in RF versus RHP, and DeRosa vs LHP.

Cash in Murton for a comparable young/cheap everyday shortstop or catcher with similar upside to Murton's.

Voila, the logjam in LF is solved, and a hole is filled.

[touchmymonkey]

Lets shoot for the moon - Send Pie,Marshall,Jones to TB for Baldelli and Dukes. I know Pie is a star in waiting but baldelli is already there and under contract for a reasonable price and Dukes will be option down the line... and lets not forget - we have Angel Pagan a very solid middle of the road switch hitter

[davearm]

The DRays don't have any use for Jones. Their OF is already crowded as-is (and Gomes is their DH).

[boomshwa12]

right, the drays would probably only trade their outfielders for pitching help

[MarkH]

davearm-

There is no way that the Cubs should trade Matt Murton and keep Jones. No way. Matt is younger and cheaper, and believe he is going to develop into a helluva hitter -with proper instruction. He has a natural feel for the strike zone (which was partially undone by the "free-swinging" philosophy of the previous coaching staff), he has a natural ability take the ball to the opposite field, and his power will develop with pulling the ball. Jones has been valuable so far, but there's no way he should be kept over Murton.

[davearm]

Mark, I don't disagree with anything you just said about Murton's skillset and potential.

However you just listed all of the reasons why other teams would/should value Murton highly too... way higher than Jones.

If the Cubs could trade Murton for the shortstop or catcher version of himself, they should be all over it. They'd be filling a hole and relieving a logjam all in one shot.

Jones certainly isn't worth enough to land a promising young ML-ready SS or C. So trade your valuable asset (Murton) for a similarly-valued asset, rather than trading a low-value Jones for squat.

[integr96]

the cubs have a pretty decent team for this year. if you are going to trade jones, you have to package him with marshall or miller and look for an up and coming ss. the cubs will have the best pitching staff in 2009.

1- zambrano
2- hill
3- gallagher
4- veal
5- prior

lf- murton
cf- pie
rf- soriano
3B- ramirez
SS- ??
2B- patterson
1B- lee
c- barrett

and then who knows what they will get in the draft? david price, matt wieters...
this team is being set up to not only be a contender for this year, but for the next 10 years.

[touchmymonkey]

integer96 - 1) Zambrano isn't signed yet 2,3,4) all unproven at major league level 5)lets get Prior thru 07 healthy before annoiting him the #5 starter in 09. Bit of a stretch to proclaim it the best pitching staff in 09. Plus you forgot that Lily and Marquis are signed through 09 - where are they in your magical rotation? Now back to the fantasy trades of good old JJ - how about Jones, Pagan, and wuertz for tori Hunter? We get 1 yr of cf they get 2yrs of rf and 3-4 yrs of cf and a potential closer if Nathan leaves

[integr96]

if the cubs are going to trade for any left handed outfielder at all, i would much rather have them trade for ichiro. as for my previous post, i did not forget lilly and marquis are signed through 09. I threw in prior because i would rather see him there instead of marquis or lilly. as for lilly and marquis... you would package them with someone in a trade. at that point you would be more interested in releasing the salary as opposed to getting anything valuable back in return. and if you think about it, the low price of those pitchers allow you to spend big money somewhere else. A-Rod maybe? The above roster, including A-Rod would be about $100M. add on $20M for bullpen and thats not bad.