The Yankees and Andruw Jones have agreed to a one-year deal with a $2MM base salary and $1.4MM in incentives, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The deal is pending a physical. The Yankees have a full 40-man roster and will need to clear a spot once the signing becomes official.
Jones, 34, hit .247/.356/.495 with 13 homers for the Yankees last year, doing most of his damage against left-handed pitchers: .286/.384/.540 with eight homers. He figures to again serve as the team's fourth outfielder, spelling the lefty hitting Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner against the AL East's tough southpaws. Jones is a Scott Boras client.
Great deal and glad to have him back.
Great sign. He’s a perfect 4th OF for the Yanks and it keeps him away from Boston…
Good signing , he’s a dangerous bench bat.
if he can repeat what he did last year then why not , i would like to see chavez back as well.
I think they will try and get Chavez back, but only if they can’t sign Nakajima from Japan.
It only took a 2M deal + incentives? Cmon Walt…He was the perfect platoon man in left with Heisy…You missed this one.
you are assuming that Jones was interested.
Nevermind….
I don’t know for sure that this is the point he was trying to make, but by all accounts Jones was comfortable in his role and in New York and probably preferred to stay there, and if that were the case another team (the Reds for example) would have had to beat that deal by enough to make it worth him leaving (ie. they wouldn’t have been able to get him for the same $2M + incentives).
I know, but how do you know he wasn’t interested? I just wish we got the guy, good pick up. I in no means wanted to start any argument.
he wasn’t interested because he signed with the yankees.. That’s how we know.
…*Facepalm*
Yes it does Tophers, because as we know, everyone on this board knows everything about every player on a personal basis. That’s why we are all GM’s and you’re not.
Why even state it? I though it was common knoweledge? 🙂
besides Jones would probably like being able to play as a DH instead of platoning every other day in the field.
He’s right though. Nothing trollish about it. Jones probably preferred NY, and if another team, like the Reds, wanted him, they would have to overpay.
Also, the 200M comment sounds silly when discussing a 2m contract…
-ECB
disagreeing with a nonsense comment with no logic = trollish?
good to know
Wow, sensitive?
As much as I agree with you, I think playing for the Reds would have possibly driven the price up a bit. He’s likely playing for a ring in NYY.
It’s crazy to see how these guys want their championship rings so much. Never could I imagine he would be so eager to join the team that beat his in the WS twice.
well, when his former team epicfailed themselves right out of the playoffs last year…
Drat.
Makes sense, though. Paying him much more than that to be a fourth outfielder is impractical and if money’s equal, I’d save myself the trouble of changing teams too. Good move for the Yankees and keeps probably the best overall outfield in baseball intact.
Yeah, would have been a good fit for Boston’s needs, but this almost made too much sense for it not to happen
What is the plan for RF now? (serious question)
Just heard about Kalish’s injury… Is there any way Middlebrooks can be worked into the lineup, or is it a committee of McDonald, Aviles, Sweeney?
– ECB
How about Jarrod Dyson after he gets cut from the Royals. That gives them a Dave Roberts ESQ player as a platooner- 5th guy
As of right now I’d say it would have to be basically a Sweeney/McDonald platoon (with Aviles maybe getting occasional time out there), but I would suspect they are looking at possible options out there (either to replace one half of the platoon or to be an every day guy).
I don’t know if this is what you meant, but I actually think Middlebrooks could probably play RF pretty well (he has a strong arm and is athletic for a 3B), but he’s never done it before and I doubt the Sox would want to put that on him while still trying to work on his plate discipline.
I think finding a pitcher is probably still more of a priority for them since they can get by with the Sweeney/McDonald platoon until Kalish comes back (they are saying May-ish before he’s able to play in the field and he’ll likely get at least a couple weeks more in AAA after that so mid June maybe).
Personally, I kinda think I like the idea of giving Lin a shot out there. He is really a CF but he has ++ arm strength and accuracy, so he would be an outstanding defensive RF, and while he doesn’t hit for any power to speak of he is an on-base machine and has outstanding speed/steals tons of bases. I think a rough approximation for him would be Brett Gardner (he may hit for an even lower average than Gardner though), only with what has appropriately been described as “a howitzer for an arm.” For some reason though he seems to get the label of ‘future 4th outfielder’ even within the Sox organization, so maybe I’m not seeing something.
It’s amazing the difference 6 years makes in someones life. When he was 27 he was a beast.
What a difference steroids make
stop libeling him, he’s never been liked to PEDs
Steriods makes a small difference so im not seeing your point
He was one of my fave players growing up. He was awesome, and is doing a great job in his new role..
Very underrated career in my opinion . and was robbed in 2005
He may have been robbed in ’05 but he did some robbing of his own in ’08.
It’s a really good move. He’s still probably the best available option for the Yankees in that role anyhow, plus it keeps him out of Boston.
I’d managed to convince myself that Jones and Sweeney could have made one nice little right field platoon, too.
Hmmm….a RH bat that kills lefties . Hey Wren , get off your tail and pull the trigger for goodness sakes . I would have loved to seen Anduw back in Atlanta again . Maybe the Yankees would be nice enough to trade him back to Atlanta for Jurrjens . Andruw + Nunez for Jurrjens . Pretty please .
Jones is a fourth outfielder at this stage of his career and anything more than what the Yanks gave him would be impractical for most teams. Even as a fan of a big market team, what the Yanks gave him is just about the max I’d go (At best, I’d have given him the same money guaranteed with a little extra in incentives).
A backup OF and a backup SS for a SP? I’d do that trade in a heartbeat… and I’m not even a Jurrjens fans!
– ECB
I’m just rosterbating a bit . I just think it would be really cool for him to finish out his career where it all got started . And I still think he has a few decent years left in him . I think he could still hit and play decent LF defense . I may be slightly dreaming a little , but he might still be able to put up a slash line of .250/.340/.475 with 20-25 RBI’s in a semi full time roll (kinda what Chipper is doing) with about 400+ AB’s a year .
makes sense because with only 270 IP in the last two season, Jurrjens is kind of a backup SP
layoff the crackpipe
Why not just sign him for the same deal instead of trading?
He’d have been a great upgrade over Diaz.
Solid move by the Yanks, Jones can still play in the field besides being a decent hitter off the bench. I like this guy, he’s a winner.
not fair!
why do the yankees get Jones at 1/2M and the Dodgers get Rivera at 1/4.5M???
I hate Ned Colletti
>.<
Jones is actually getting $5m for 2011. The Dodgers are paying $3m of it. 😉
I guess the silver lining for him is that at least he’s still technically employed by the Dodgers in a sense.
Anyone knocking the Yankees for signing Jones to a 2 million deal has to have their head examined. You look at his stats vs. lefties last year and he’s worth double that in a solid platoon. Word on the street is he is working hard to get himself back in shape as he wants to play more and hit against RHP more. Yankees had to make this move as him going to the Red Sox would have strengthened the Boston OF significantly in my opinion. I think he was only looking for a deal with a contender hence why some teams had no shot at him.
I expect the Yankees to retain Chavez and the Japanese player they won in the bid against no one. I have a feeling no one in the Yankees front office is counting on a healthy Arod. Flying around the world in search of miracle cures does not inspire a lot of confidence.
I’m not knockingh it at all . I wish the Braves would have done this deal . We could have used his bat against lefties .
LOL! That was the same story with the White Sox and he ended up being garbage. He was really inconsistent. He will not play everyday at all and will be a sub until a younger or better proven player starts cutting into his playing time.
…. hes not starting for the yankees, hes their 4 OF
Glad they were able to bring him back. Now…about that #2 starter…
The Yankees spend too much money!
Good deal, we needed him back. My only hope now is that Cash doesn’t overpay for a pitcher and get rid of the farm.
How much does 2 (3.4)MM really buy in NYC? Rent’s not exactly cheap.
He doesn’t necessarily have to live in NYC.
Tons of upside….Not!
Hey 1990 called, they want their jokes back
Awesome
Whoa…I had no idea all of these turn of the century stars were still in organized baseball. Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones, add in A-Rod, Jeter, Posada and Rivera and you have a nice 2000 All-Star team that found its way back to NY. I hear they’re interested in Juan Gonzalez and Bobby Higginson, and having Jeff Weaver be the swingman.
Check the stats on Colon, Garcia, Jeter, and especially Rivera. Who cares if it’s 2000 or 2011, if they’re producing, they’re producing. Besides, how many games did the JV team win last year anyway?
Dude, your way off. Those players you listed are ROLE players, not the core. The Yankees core players are Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Granderson, Sabathia, and Mo. The veterans are their for depth, and to be mentors to the younger players.
Why are you trying to read so much into this? I’m not taking cheap shots, I was making an observation. I don’t pay enough attention to the Yankees to realize that Freddy Garcia still exists. If the signings worked out, great for them. Jamie Moyer is still a useful pitcher and he’s a fossil.
If I wanted to make it personal, I would have had them go find Jesse Barfield and Andy Hawkins or something.
These jokes were funny last offseason , but it clearly worked for the Yankee’s. Hard to say anything bad about Jones as a 4th Of at that price with his production.
You’d think they could find a 4th OF that could actually play the OF though…
Which, by defensive metrics, he can still do just fine, and probably better than several starting outfielders.
You Stat-o-Matic geeks. He is average at best. He has a high metric because he has had limited opportunity. Lets put him out there for an extended period and you will see just how bad he is. Dig deeper Dungeon Master.
Can’t really argue with the success he had as a RH bat off the bench and 4th outfielder. The Yankees could do a LOT worse for his role on the team. I’m surprised he didn’t get a bump in salary too.
They didn’t have to give him a bump…he’s being paid $3.75m from the Dodgers this year still…..
So what the Yankees have veterans who were former all stars now. They still won 97 Games in 2011, and won the division that every single so called expert said the Red Sox would win. It’s called having good role players. Jones crushed lefty pitchers last season, and is a good 4th outfielder for the Yankees.
And choked in the playoffs…..again.
Not a Yankee fan, but losing to a 95 win team is not choking. Any of the teams that made the playoffs this year could’ve won the WS (and most years).
When your payroll is that high, it is always choking
Oh the jealousy!
Can he pitch?
Good but what happened to all the pitching they said they were going to get? I am not going to have to watch AJ Burnett give up 9 runs a game again am I?
at least you dont have barry zito….
And I remember when Andruw was one of the most feared power hitters in the game. Makes one almost miss the Roid Era.