According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Andruw Jones has priced himself out of the Braves’ range and will not be returning next year. O’Brien says Scott Boras’ starting point was seven years and nearly $20MM annually. So basically no discount at all despite Jones’ terrible season. Boras would be a true magician to pull that off.
All of this just goes to confirm the sentiment from a few days ago. But don’t think this frees up a ton of money for the Braves to spend on Torii Hunter. As I noted earlier, a $95MM payroll (a $7MM increase from last year) would probably just buy the Braves their current roster without Andruw or Octavio Dotel. The raises are that significant.
When it’s all said and done, I still think Boras and Jones will accept a significantly discounted contract in both years and average annual value.
