Yanks Hope Advances in Time Travel Will Vindicate Andruw Jones Signing

I joked about this a few days ago, but the bloated corpse of Andruw Jones is officially Bronx bound. I mock Andruw, and rightly so, considering what he once was (a guy who hit 51 home runs in a season) and what he is now (fat). A brief history lesson: Jones slept through his contract year with the Braves in 2007, posting a .222/.311/.413 line, but still managed to trick the Dodgers--with what I can only assume were funhouse mirrors--into giving him a nice 2 year, $36 million dollar contract that off-season. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Jones' parlor tricks never translated to on the field success, and after a year of .158/.256/.249 The Dodgers dumped him.

His greatest trick was when he'd make the whole burrito disappear
Since then Jones has been a part-time player, never registering more than 331 plate appearances in a season, with mixed results. No, he's not as bad as he was in L.A., and he showed he still has some pop (.255 ISO in 2010). But he'll probably never hit for an average above .240 again, and his splits suggest he's more effective against lefties than righties. On defense, Jones is a shell of his former self, but isn't so run down that he's a liability. Once one of the best center fielders in the game (UZR score one year of 26, that's pretty awesome) Jones' UZR has dropped to around league average, and is even more tenuous considering his propensity to not work out.

At this point, Andruw Jones is best suited for the role he'll have with the Yankees, a 4th outfielder, assuming he tries hard, which is not a guarantee. This deal won't end up being a home-run for the Yankees, as the Andruw Jones of 2006 isn't coming back, and the effortless play in the outfield he was once known for now will come across more lackadaisical than anything when he isn't running balls down in the gaps. For $2 million, the Yankees aren't taking much of a financial risk, and if you can overlook a lot for some extra pop, you may enjoy Andruw. But don't be surprised if he doesn't finish the year in the Bronx.

Bleacher Report has the Andruw Jones Guide to Ruining a Career.

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