Was a better bargain than Andruw Jones signed this winter? The White Sox added him on a one-year deal worth $500K, and all he's given them so far is a batting line of .260/.360/.604. Meanwhile, the man patrolling his old Atlanta center field home, Nate McLouth, checks in at .167/.302/.271, and Gary Matthews Jr., who will make twice what Jones does from the Mets this year (and next year!), is hitting .152/.235/.196.
The problem is, this hasn't allowed the White Sox to move into contention. Thanks to a 14-20 start, combined with Minnesota's 22-12 beginning, Chicago is already eight games out, with Memorial Day still weeks away. So it may well be that the White Sox can, and should flip Jones to a contending team down the stretch. And that reasonable short-term deal means some of the smaller-market contenders are likely to be in the Jones sweepstakes.
What are some possible destinations?
- Washington could be a good fit. Willie Harris is hitting just .182/.313/.418, and with Willy Taveras also getting outfield at-bats, so Jones could be a good fit for regular corner outfield time. The Nationals have several pitchers set to join the big league team, but little in the way of outfield prospects at the top of their system. For now, the Nationals say they're content with Harris and Roger Bernadina.
- Cincinnati has seen Drew Stubbs struggle in center field so far; he's hitting just .196/.283/.321. It shouldn't be hard to convince Dusty Baker to play the veteran Jones over Stubbs, either. It's not clear that Jones is still an every day center fielder, but Chicago has already played him there four times in 2010.
- The Padres have Kyle Blanks in left field, Tony Gwynn Jr. in center field, and Will Venable in right field. Of the three, only Blanks profiles as a top prospect, so the other two could be vulnerable to a Jones acquisition, should San Diego remain in the race.
- With Eric Chavez and Jake Fox struggling, and Rajai Davis reverting to form, the Athletics could use Jones in either center field or at designated hitter to support an imposing starting rotation. The move sounds a lot like acquiring Frank Thomas, doesn't it?
- And don't fall asleep on Seattle, either. Currently 6.5 games out, the Mariners have the talent to climb back into the race, but their DHs, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney, simply aren't hitting. Jones could also slot into left field.
One thing's for sure: those who believed Andruw Jones' career was over- a sad thing for anyone who saw him dominate baseball in his 20s- appear to have been premature.
“And don’t fall asleep on Seattle”
very nice 🙂
What about Atlanta? You made the comparrison to Nate McLouth, who seems to be struggling in ATL, add in a mid level prospect and send McLouth packing.
Best case, it adds a spark to the Braves desperate lineup and fans remember the good days of a young andruw…
Worst case: he stuggles mightly and you put Melky in CF and Diaz in LF….
I for one would love to have Anduw back in Atlanta. With a healthy Schafer already hitting and running his way back up through the minors we could really revamp our outfield with Jones in LF and Schafer in CF.
Mclouth really let me and my fantasy team down this year.
With the White Sox 6 games below .500 on May 14th you suggest to trade him to the following ‘contenders’: Oakland, the Nationals, the Reds, and the Padres? Sure the White Sox have looked nothing like a playoff team but will any of those teams even stiff the postseason and is San Diego going to play .647 ball. I think not.
According to Baseball Prospectus – current chances of making playoffs:
San Diego 67%
Oakland 29%
Washington 25%
Cincinnati 21%
White Sox 11%
Just sayin
Complete nonsense. San Diego has 2/3 of a shot of making the playoffs? I guess the following ERA are also sustainable then huh?
Richard: 3.32
Garland: 1.71
Latos: 3.32
LeBlanc: 1.61
Let me know if by the end of the season they continue to have a Cy Young candidate slotted 1-5 in their rotation. For the most part that entire rotation is pitching way over their heads and their lineup is a bunch of nothing surrounded by Adrian Gonzalez.
& Oakland at 29% is a rather sick joke.
These are the top 10 teams in terms of winning percentage since last July 27:
1. New York Yankees: .663 (65-33)
2. Minnesota Twins .612 (60-38)
3. San Diego Padres .608 (59-38)
4. St. Louis Cardinals .604 (58-38)
5. Philadelphia Phillies .576 (57-42)
6. Boston Red Sox .560 (56-44)
7. Tampa Bay Rays .557 (54-43)
8. San Francisco Giants .557 (54-43)
9. Colorado Rockies .557 (54-43)
10. Florida Marlins .536 (52-45)
And these are the top teams in ERA:
1. Cardinals: 3.12
2. Giants: 3.33
3. Padres: 3.41
4. Atlanta Braves: 3.56
5. Los Angeles Dodgers: 3.66
6. Phillies: 3.73
7. Seattle Mariners: 3.82
8. Yankees: 3.92
9. Rays: 3.93
10. Rockies: 4.07
Didn’t they also predict the A’s to win the AL West with a .500 record? I’m taking anything they say with a grain of salt.
San Diego could make the playoffs this year, though. They always had decent pitching and if they make a move at the deadline, it could supplement the team well and maybe make up for some of the regression that comes along. It will be here very soon for Garland, but Young is also an option if he ever gets healthy.
San Diego will certainly have some regression in the pitching staff but really all they have to do is go about .500 the rest of the way to stay in it (Wild Card too). Signing Dye could help. Selling high on one of their relievers might get them a bat as well.
Being in contention and making the playoffs aren’t the same thing. The Nationals are in 1st place for the Wild Card and only 1gb of Philly, and with the easiest portion of the schedule starting Wednesday (63 games w/o 1 ’09 playoff team) and Strasburg & Storen will be up in June & Wang, Detwiler & Marquis will come off the DL by July 15. Adding a RFer to replace Bernadina/Harris/Maxwell/Taveras would go a long way toward keeping them in the hunt through September, and with those 4 pitcher coming back they have some chips to trade including Livo, Olsen, Stammen & Lannan.
& once again they have several pitchers way in over their heads. Scott Olson, Livan Hernandez and Matt Capps have exceeded all expectations and Pudge obviously isn’t going to contend for a batting title. However the call ups of Strasburg & Storen will be interesting and unlike the AL I’m not sure if anyone will run away with the wild card so who knows what happens.
Sounds like BP work like weather reporters instead of meteorologists.
Have you saw the reds play lately? there on fire there pitching is doing really good, and people well writers have said this is there dark horse team
“With the White Sox 6 games below .500 on May 14th you suggest to trade him to the following ‘contenders’: Oakland, the Nationals, the Reds, and the Padres?”
I’m sorry, but I see zero logic in your post…
The idea is:
A) The Sox should trade him for prospects
B) Finding teams that might be looking to trade for such a player right now
These teams being contenders come September makes absolutely no difference. They are right now, and therefore are teams which might make moves to increase the chances they actually stay there.
Your complaint is just completely meaningless and irrelevant
Realistically I don’t see this team making the playoffs however it is still VERY early in the season and you don’t really see teams selling off parts in mid-May. On top of that if you think the previously mentioned teams are going to be offering solid prospects for half a season of Andruw Jones even at a bargain price your the one that needs a dose of logic.
Enlighten me again why you even waste your time watching and commenting on baseball related web sites when it seems you only get pleasure out of bashing Chicago based teams.
“Realistically I don’t see this team making the playoffs”
Again, zero relevance
“and you don’t really see teams selling off parts in mid-May.”
No, that generally starts in late May – you know, a week or two from now… Of course, some teams surprising people in the standings will make a trade earlier; but apparently that is something people shouldn’t talk about according to you…
“Enlighten me again why you even waste your time watching and commenting on baseball related web sites when it seems you only get pleasure out of bashing Chicago based teams.”
Humm…
Cubs = 15-21
Sox = 14-20
Yeah, forgot, we should all be signing the praises from the mountain tops…
Ever so sorry the downfall of the two clubs was like predicting the sun rising though!
But let’s flip that around instead. How about you enlighten me as to why you waste your time posting on Trade related websites saying how people shouldn’t talk about possible trade destinations for players?
I could see the Red Sox looking at Andruw. It seems right up Theo’s way of risk and reward level.
If, Cameron and or Ellsbury have any further setbacks it would be worth a look, I think Jones’ home run totals would be crazy in fenway
FYI Cameron had a strong night at the plate last night in AAA against the Syracuse Chiefs, one of the better team in the IL. I’ve got to believe he’s close to helping the team and sending Darnell McWhoever back to the minors.
Why would Kenny trade such a favorable contract like Jones’s? Assuming he meets all performance bonuses totaling $1M, the Sox would save only a total of $500,000, lose a guy that seems to have found himself again at the plate and can play all three outfield positions while not receiving a top-notch prospect in return (it would be more like a couple mid-tier prospects).
If Jones shows any indication of signing back with the Sox at a reasonable price, you don’t trade that. They wouldn’t shed payroll and don’t need to. The 2011 payroll has only $67 million committed right now with arbs coming to Jenks (much more likely to be flipped than Jones), Quentin (if he continues along these lines, no great jump in salary), Pena and Danks (who should see a rather large but a bit backloaded deal).
Much more will be known about the legitimacy of Jones’s resurgence by the deadline. He looks good so far. But he also had a .933 OPS through his first 27 games last year. He seems to be fully back in some form but if he continues it and shows he can hold up to a full season at this stage in his career, why trade him with the sort of low, not major league-ready haul the Sox would get back? If he can’t, who would want him?
Tons of moving parts here.
Why would he NOT trade him.
Andruw hasn’t rediscovered himself – he’s on a hot streak. That’s it. He will settle down to his typical 700 or OPS level. Getting rid of him now while his value is high would be genius. I’m just skeptical that ANY GM believes that this is the real Andruw.
Because his production is not valuable to the White Sox, but any player(s) they might get back in a trade very well could be.
With DeRosa likely going on the long-term DL, don’t assume Jones wouldn’t be on the Giants’ radar screen for LF.
If the Reds pick up Andrew Jones, it will be as the team’s left fielder. Stubbs ain’t goin’ anywhere. His CF defense keeps him in the lineup no matter what he’s hitting.
“Those who thought his career was over” mostly live in Los Angeles, which spent a river of cash on him, only to see him report to Spring Training 20 pounds overweight, hit below the Mendoza line, virtually no power, mediocre fielding and chronic refusal to take responsibility for any of it. So, two cheers for the revival of this selfish ballplayer’s career! Yay. I hope they trade him to the Padres. Would love to see him try to catch a bus to reach deep center field in Petco.
Did he just not want to play for LA? Your post makes it seem like he just stopped caring during that stretch…
Not the OP here, but yep, that just about sums it up.
just a guess, but you sound like a PTer. your use of OP and “flumesalot” gave it away
Say again?
nevermind. your handle and use of acronyms are spot on for another website (PT, another acronym). I mean, it’s absurd. Clearly you don’t know what I’m talking about, so I’ll just back out slowly
OP=Original poster, flumesalot a family inside joke… I mean really inside, like our house 🙂
Hard to imagine, given the $36 million contract he signed that winter. But no, it seemed like he viewed that contract as a reward for his years in Atlanta, and an opportunity to eat prodigious amounts of food. He claimed the extra weight made him strong, but he had very little power when playing for the Dodgers. Torre stuck with him endlessly, but finally gave up on him. By that time, the fans hated Jones.
I guess I commented mostly because of the idea that somehow, people in Los Angeles misperceived Jones, coming to an inaccurate belief that he was done. He was deeply, miserably done, and there was no wiggle room in that assessment.
“Gary Matthews Jr., who will make twice what Jones does from the Mets this year (and next year!), is hitting .152/.235/.196.”
This is misleading in a couple of ways. First, Matthews is not getting the majority of playing time in CF for the Mets by any means. Second, he is getting paid by the Angels, not the Mets (except for a small sliver of his salary). Third, keep in mind that the Dodgers are still paying a hefty sum of deferred money to Jones, even though he is on a new contract with the Sox.
The real questin is what will the White Sox require in return. If they want equal value they can make a deal, but if they are looking to “Cash In” on their succesful gamble on Jones it will be a tougher sell. I’d give them Scott Olsen (LHP under team control for 2 yrs) for Jones right now.
With the doubts that are rotation has, I believe that we have to consider keeping Olsen and moving Detweiler instead. They are roughly equivalent in my opinion.
Seattle should at the very least inquire on Andruw Jones, he’s probablly the best solution to their offensive woes presently.
As a long time Braves fan, I’m pretty sure anyone who watched Andruw struggle, absolutely believed his career wasn’t over, IF he was willing to put in the work.
My understanding is he got himself in shape this off season, which is HUGE (figuratively & litteraly speaking) for him.
He’s got a mile of natural talent, but if you’re not willing to do the work, talent doesn’t mean squat.
I think he’s def a sell high guy right now. It seemed impossible for him to digress like he did in such a short period of time, but I think a true resurgence is even more unlikely. However, he could probably help the braves believe it or not. Even as just a defensive mentor
San Diego is a great fit for Jones. He rakes in PETCO and he’s not committed long term or with significant money.
There’s no point or reason for the Sox to deal Jones. Quentin would be much more likely at this point, and of course Konerko and Pierzynski who are both free agents making large salaries. Andruw’s salary and the limited return the Sox would get make this a no-brainer. GM’s don’t trade for the sake of trading.
Your opinion is weird and wrong. However limited the return on a trade would be, it is a greater return than his production on a losing team would be.
“One thing’s for sure: those who believed Andruw Jones’ career was over- a sad thing for anyone who saw him dominate baseball in his 20s- appear to have been premature.”
Whoa, we’re ~19% into the season. The only thing that’s for sure about this season is that Joe Nathan won’t be pitching in it.