Yesterday we learned that the Yankees have strong interest in free agent outfielder Andruw Jones. GM Brian Cashman is in search of a backup outfielder who hits right-handed and Jones is one of the better options available at this point in the offseason.
Jones' ability to hit left-handed pitching is well-known. The five-time All-Star has a career .863 OPS against lefties and even topped that mark with a .931 posting in 2010. And as Ben Shpigel of the New York Times points out, Jones' defense is still preferable to that of Marcus Thames, even if he has lost a step or three over the years. The soon-to-be 34-year-old registered a 2.2 UZR/150 in the outfield last season which easily bested Thames' -33.0.
Thames and Johnny Damon are still available and still backup options for the Yanks, but they prefer Jones. However, the two sides are still far apart on money and the veteran has other suitors, including the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter). When all is said and done, do you envision Jones being in pinstripes in 2011?
I pick no, mostly because I wanted him in a Braves uniform, even though I never wanted him out of one.
Yeah, lets bring Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, and Corky Miller back while we’re at it.
Yeah, lets bring Jeff Francoeur, Kelly Johnson, and Corky Miller back while we’re at it.
as a Braves fan …. I am still hoping he would sign with the Braves
As a Yankee fan, I hope he signs with the Braves.
I prefer Damon.
As a Red Sox fan I also prefer the yanks sign Damon.
Even though Damon doesn’t match the major criteria Cashman is looking for in that he isn’t a RH hitter who can play all three OF positions?
Damon? We need a right handed bat who hits lefties and can play decent defense and that defitinley makes Jones a wiser choice
Jeter- .270 Avg, .340 OBP, .370 Slg, .710 OPS
Damon .271 Avg, .355 OBP, .401 Slg, .756 OPS
So………….You put Damon at SS?
Will he be able to make the throw to first on a fly?
No, but I wouldn’t put Jeter at shortstop, either.
Jeter – 5.4 UZR/150
Damon + 4.6 UZR/ 150
Put Damon at SS and Jeter in LF and you probably get the opposite results. Jeter a +, Damon a –
I wouldn’t do either. They’re both well past their prime defensively.
UZR is a joke, if you watched any yankee games you would know Jete is a very good fielder
UZR is a joke, if you watched any yankee games you would know Jete is a very good fielder
As a Yankee fan, I’m offended by your lack of knowledge about our shortstop. Very good fielder is quite generous.
That makes Damon vastly underpaid, no?
Damon would put up great numbers as a SS but since he’s not sort of a bad comparison.
I’m going with the Angels here. DH/OF w/ Abreu/Rivera.
what about torii?
I hope so, I think he would be an awesome platoon OFer if his splits are any indication. Not so sure he needs to resort to a bench role yet though.
Jones is not really a platoon player. In his career he’s OPS’d .863 vs LHP and .814 vs. RHP. Those are not platoon player’s splits. I know he did put up .931 OPS vs. LHP in 2010, but that was in 86 ABs.
.365 wOBA vs. .333 wOBA career
128 wRC+ vs. 107 wRC+ career
Pretty significant. And its more pronounced later in his career.
Huh? Where’d you get your numbers? According to fangraphs:
.355 wOBA vs. .352 wOBA career
118 wRC+ vs. 116 wRC+ career
Not a platoon player.
WOW, where did I get those numbers is a great question! I can’t even find anything resembling what I posted on his fangraphs page. You’re right.
Not sure yourpoint. His numbers might be the same both either LHP or RHP but for the Yankees purpose he would be a platoon player. Isn’t any player capable of being a platoon player?
I still think Milledge is a better option. He may not be as sound as AJ is defensively but he hits LHP much better than AJ does.
AJ 2010- .256/.373/.558 vs LHP (86 AB)
AJ Career-.261/.361/.501 vs LHP
LM 2010- .320/.414/.512 vs LHP (125 AB)
LM Career-.289/.363/.435vs LHP
Plus the Yanks are short on OF depth, Milledge is still young @ 26 and maybe working with Kevin Long can help him to become a better hitter that might serve the Yanks a greater purpose down the road.
Come on Phils, get in the fight here. A right handed power bat who kills lefties and plays the corners is exactly what we need right now.
You’re not gonna need anymore offense since you will only have to score 1 or 2 runs each game to win.
Wrong comment
you think they have more money?
I think he should go for a starting gig if he can find one. If he could play regularly in Colorado I bet he could hit a lot of homers and re-jump start his career.
He’s a platoon player in Colorado too. The OF is already crowded with EY, Fowler, CarGo, Smith, and Spilborghs. Spilly is right handed, Young and Fowler are switch hitters, CarGo hits lefties. That leaves him platooning with Smith, while I like the power production you could get out of it, he’s probably going to cost more than the Rockies are willing to spend after they raided the bargain basement and got Wigginton and Lopez (both right handed power type hitters). I just don’t see them making this move, though I like the potential it could give them.
Isn’t simple? Just offer him the most money and he’ll be a yankee! Oh wait …
He’s really only 34? I swear I’ve been hearing his name forever. Oh yeah, he came to the big leagues when he was 20.
18
we need him in Atlanta!
I’d rather see Manny Ramirez as a fourth outfielder, if only because throw back Manny without the dreads would be nice to see.
As a twins fan, I hope the yankees sign Damon and Jones and any other washed up ballplayers they want. Sometimes signing someone can make a team much much worse!
and sometimes much much better…twins need to beat the yanks once in the play offs then you can come on here and post about signing washed up players…..sheesh…..Brian…will you post back if the twins sign thome? just wondering???
You didn’t just bash JIM THOME did you?? Andruw Jones and Johnny Damon COMBINED didn’t produce anywhere near as good a season as Jim Thome, check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Brian…read what you wrote…check both players stats and tell me how Andre Jones is washed up…thats why I posted what I did..and thats what you said…back up what you said…don’t change the subject…and I would defintely take jones over Thome, when you add in the fact that Jones can play any outfield position well…hes not just a DH…the damon thing…I’d take Thome…fair enough???
Brian…Jones and Damon combined.. for 3 times as many runs, hits,doubles and triples, then jim thome…2 more hrs…twice as many rbi’s,….you were saying??? I checked myself….and I was right?? …now what?…I still don’t get your Yankees sign washed up player post…I’d take any of these three players on my bench….also I would avoid Capital letters when you have no “real” point…no and I’m not bashing Thome…great career and they say..a great guy too…Now heres the question…if the Yanks sign Thome is he washed up then, or just when the Twins sign him???….hmmm
You didn’t just bash JIM THOME did you?? Andruw Jones and Johnny Damon COMBINED didn’t produce anywhere near as good a season as Jim Thome, check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Make the playoffs with a payroll under $100M, then you can post.
Fair?
Yanks have done that numerous times…so I guess I can post…lol….and a team could never win the world series with a payroll under 100 million …right…oh wait..
He needs to come back home to Atlanta
I really wish the Braves would sign him, or somebody. I’m just not sold on Schafer or Young yet.
Brian Cashman is asleep at the wheel.
like the yanks need to get older
Not a good off season at all for the Yanks.
Why? They made a monster offer to Lee. He went for the path of least resistance by pitching in the National League. I do not blame him. He faces maybe 5 decent hitters a night in an average National League line up. He will prolong his career by 2-3 years pitching there.
The Yankees have spent chump change on role players at best. None of them are designed to shoulder the burden in any capacity. Prior, Dusch, Jones or who ever else they sign will not be a starter in the lineup on a regular basis. Any pitcher they sign will the #4 probably the #5.
Again, teams do not win the World Series in the off season. However, with the rate our country is going there probably will be an ESPN TV Special hosted by LeBron James handing pre season awards…..
Why hasn’t it been a good offseason? Because you missed your #1 target, and watched your rivals sign their top target (Boston-Crawford) and acquire their most coveted of the past few years (Adrian).
It’s no secret the offseason hasn’t gone according to plan for Cashman. He’d probably be the first to admit it.
There’s no shame in it. 9/10 offseasons the Yankees get their targets. They missed this year. It happens. No reason to get defensive.
I would say the Yanks had a dissapointing year simply because they didn’t sign Lee. Theire other moves were more for bench players and a bullpen arm. A true “bad offseason” would be something like the Angels simply because they had far, far more holes they had to fill.
The Angels probably rank in the Top-5 for Worst Off-Seasons of the Past Decade.
Yeah but it’s foolish for Cashman, or any GM, to evaluate their offseason according to what their opponents did versus what they did for their own teams. The Yanks needs were a lot smaller than most others. They needed….
a) Cliff Lee or an equivalent #1-#2 type starter.
b) An 8th inning replacement for Woob.
c) A RH 4th OF.
e) Pettitte to return. (Beyond their control)
f) Improve the C situation. (Martin)
Red Sox needed…
a) Starting 1B or 3B
b) Starting LF
c) Starting C
d) A lefty in the pen.
e) Two more RH bullpen arms.
Andruw Jones is a risk to be pretty good … or absolutely horrendous. Remember how bad he was three years ago in L.A? He was beyond horrible. But maybe he does have something left for a team that plays in a hitter’s park. Wouldn’t pay him much though.
Yankees will sign him because even though his career fell off long ago, he still puts people in the seats. I am a Giants fan and I wouldn’t mind signing him and cutting Rowand.
I don’t think Jones is a draw for even mediocre teams unless they are fans of his from his Atlanta days. Especially on the Yankees, he wouldn’t even an everyday player.
So… you’re saying the yanks, the team with the largest home team attendance last year will want to sign a player to put people in the seats.
Yeah. That argument makes no sense.
The same team with the largest post-season exodus from a stadium in which a game was still being played? Yankees only put people in the seats because it’s trendy and they win.
“Trendy” if you mean the team always makes the playoff. But I think you can say that about every fan base except for the Cubs.
Take away the team’s history and move them to St Petersburg FL and they wouldn’t be popular to support. The fact that they’re in the largest media outlet in all of baseball helps make them popular.
And I think I already said that they win, so your snark about the post-season is really pointless since you come back at me with a point I already mentioned.
“Take away the team’s history and move them to St Petersburg FL and they wouldn’t be popular to support.”
Good one. Does this not apply for any team from any sport?
So… you’re saying the yanks, the team with the largest home team attendance last year will want to sign a player to put people in the seats.
Yeah. That argument makes no sense.
Yeah, Jeter, Arod, Teixeira, Rivera, CC, Posada, Cano, have never really put any people in the seats. Andruw Jones will be the deal breaker here though.
I doubt AJ would have any effect on the Yanks attendance.
The Mariners need a right-handed OF/DH with some pop to complement Saunders in LF and Jack Cust at DH. If Andruw Jones comes at a reasonable price (A contract similar to the one he got from the White Sox or Rangers), he could be a fit with Seattle. Get it done Jack!
Yes he should—because the yankees need more old farts
Jones being 34 will actually be younger than some of the starting Yankees. It’s just that he has performed like he was 54 during some of his years. Besides, as a 4th outfielder, they won’t be expecting him to make the all-star team.
If you mean most as in 5 players on the 25 man roster then ok (Jeter, Arod, Posada, Mo and AJ).
I said “some”.
My bad.
No problem. It’s all good.
I guess it would be a good, but why? the yanks are getting old as it is and i rather have the outfield system they have now… if they need a outfielder they should get a player who is young and starting his prime.
And that would be……..wait for it…………………..Chad Huffman? ………. Greg Golson? …… They sure have a high ceiling of talent.
I would’ve prefered Milledge but it’s not like they hurting anything by signing AJ either. It’s a 1 year deal and he isn’t being brought in to start over Gardner, Swisher or Grandy. He’s a back up/situational starter.
I guess it would be a good, but why? the yanks are getting old as it is and i rather have the outfield system they have now… if they need a outfielder they should get a player who is young and starting his prime.
I guess it would be a good pick up, but the yanks are getting old as it is. I personally rather have the the outfield system they have now. I understand the yanks need a outfielder and i would be trilled if they land one, but if they land one i personally think the yanks should get an outfielder who is young and is just starting his prime. But, Marcus Thames wants too much money and yanks wont give it to him so Jones will fill in his place.
I guess it would be a good pick up, but the yanks are getting old as it is. I personally rather have the the outfield system they have now. I understand the yanks need a outfielder and i would be trilled if they land one, but if they land one i personally think the yanks should get an outfielder who is young and is just starting his prime. But, Marcus Thames wants too much money and yanks wont give it to him so Jones will fill in his place.
Huge Andruw fan here and a Braves fan. Andruw was an awesome player, IMO, with the Braves. He had a natural talent for the game and did not keep in shape as he got older. He put faith in that natural talent while continuing to gain weight. Because of that, he had a terrible year in LA, an injury-plagued year, in Texas, and then last year (after losing weight) he showed he still had power. I believe Andruw could be a wonderful addition for someone. Wish it was Atlanta, but I don’t know.
I agree with you too. He should have a weight incentive based contract. The year he had in Los Angeles was so bad, it was the worst I have ever seen for a former allstar player. His swing was as slow as his contract was fat. Other than an injured player on a guaranteed contract, that was probably the worst deal in MLB history.
I like AJ on the Yanks this year. He can play all the OF positions and he has some pop left in his bat.
Good post Slider…I agree..a little dh, a little left field, pinch hit…also insurance against injury…I don’t know why cashman never seems to figure in injuries in his signings…i like someone you can play for 2 or 3 weeks at a time because he may have to…hamstring pull, sprained ankle or even a prolonged slump…good to have a solid back up who could get hot and help pitch in with some wins…