Jones Rejects Arbitration

by Jesse on Dec 13, 2005 2:57 PM EST in News

Dan Lozano, Jacgue Jones' agent, reports Jones probably won't be playing for Minnesota in 2006.

By rejecting the Twins' offer of arbitration, the chance of Jones being a returning member of the only organization he's ever played for have shrunk from a sliver to virtually zero. All that's left is for Jones to literally sign with another team.

Last week there was a rumored offer from Kansas City that was apparently untrue, but this week there is another rumor including the Royals and Jones to the tune of 3 years, $15 million dollars. Along with Minnesota, Seattle, Arizona and the Dodgers are rumored to be the most interested suitors.

With all the multi-year offers coming in, Lozano said there was no way Jones would accept a 1-year deal. Should Jones sign with another team, and there's no doubt he will, the Twins will be compensated with a draft pick.

Terry Ryan has stated he was awaiting Jones' decision before proceeding with other free agents. It looks like Jones' decision has been made.

One more time: Au Revoir, Jacque.

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Making Room in LA

Unfortunatley I have to study for finals so I am going to make this post short, sweet and to the point.
At the risk of sounding like a crazy internet conspiracy theorist, it just so happens that the same day Jones denies arbitration and his agent makes it clear his client will not play for KC (who would besides "Douggie Baseball"), the Dodgers traded away their center fielder for a minor leaguer, freeing up cap room and a spot in the outfield.
I think a fair amount of deductive reasoning is all that is needed to conclude that Jones is Goin' Back to Cali. I have checked ESPN and Twinsbaseball.com every hour on the hour expecting to see the news.
It's only a matter of time.

by becker on Dec 13, 2005 7:14 PM EST reply actions

That's what I was thinking, too...

I think Jones is arguably more valuable as a centerfielder, so LA signing him for center would make some sense. That, or they could keep him in RF and move Drew to CF.

by ubelmann on Dec 13, 2005 9:10 PM EST up reply actions

LOL

He may in fact be the worst player in the major leagues, and we have to say anything other than "Thank you and good riddance?" (lineup/fielding-wise)

He will not play long for whatever team is dumb enough to sign him. Just wait.

Sometime your low self-esteem is just good common sense.

by statman on Dec 13, 2005 11:18 PM EST reply actions

Hyperbole

Worst player in the major leagues? Fine. You put together a team of 9 Luis Rivases or 9 Juan Castros, and I'll have a team of 9 Jacque Joneses, and we'll see whether your team wins even one out of 10 games, even against lefthanded pitching. There are probably 100 position players in MLB worse than Jacque, and if the Twins didn't have Torii Hunter, he would likely be among the coveted centerfielders in this year's free agent market, fielding ridiculous offers from the Yankees.

by BeefMaster on Dec 14, 2005 9:19 AM EST up reply actions

Who's going to play...

Shortstop on your team? :-) It is hyperbole, but it was hyperbole intended to be relative to position. There are some middle infielders that hit worse, of course.

And actually, Rivas is the counterargument that makes my case! LOL

(I hate JJ so much as a player)

Sometime your low self-esteem is just good common sense.

by statman on Dec 14, 2005 3:10 PM EST up reply actions

Fine...

...let's list some RF'ers who were worse than Jones in 2005:

Nick Swisher
Aubrey Huff
Jeromy Burnitz
Casey Blake
Alexis Rios
Sammy Sosa

That's only considering guys with 400+ PAs, and without considering defense. When you consider that Jones is a superb defender, he passes a list of players about as long as the one above.

by ubelmann on Dec 14, 2005 6:17 PM EST up reply actions

Once again...

Jones is a horrid defender. He can run down some balls other guys might not, and he might now be better than Sosa, who's done as an OF, but he's NOT good in RF (he may be better in CF). You need to make good decisions out there, and I've felt (and the Twins know) he rarely does. I'll take any of the guys you mention--easily--over Jones.

I suspect this argument will continue as Jones accepts arbitration. He'd be a fool to not accept, and I think Ryan was a fool (though I like the fact he took a chance--because he rarely does so) for offering arb.

His sad cry for support in the paper yesterday was sickening for me to read. Seriously, he had better go to the NL where it will take pitchers a time or two to learn how to get him out easily. Otherwise, I see him being benched and then desperately traded.

Oh, to have a Swisher.

Sometime your low self-esteem is just good common sense.

by statman on Dec 14, 2005 6:28 PM EST up reply actions

Jones' Defense

Your perception of Jones' defensive abilities is so far removed from reality, it's not even worth discussing.

You're going to look back at these comments and feel pretty silly when Jones signs his new contract with someone else for at least 3 years with at least $5M/year.

by ubelmann on Dec 14, 2005 7:42 PM EST up reply actions

defense

Truth is: Jones is above average defensively. What that says about MLB outfield defense is a little dissappointing.

However, my knock on Jones is twofold, and frankly, the only legitimate knock on his game. They just happen to be my pet peeves, which is why i am okay with his departure from the Twins.

He almost NEVER hits the cutoff man.
Horrid pitch selection/too many bad at bats.

Other than that, his occasional power, general hustle, decent defense, clutch ability, and clubhouse demeanor (generally) are solid assets. The Dodgers need him, and while the Cards are lowballing him on the $, they would be a good fit too. Jones will be starting for one of them next year, batting 7th, and doing better with the pressure off.

by brandonp on Dec 15, 2005 11:48 AM EST up reply actions

The Baggie

We will never have a RF who played the bounced on the baggie better than Jonesy. He played that wall like Dennis Rodman played the percentages on banks off of a 17 foot jump shot.

Also, his arm rivaled Ichiro.

Also, how many ties did he break with late inning and/or extra inning home runs?

Also, who had more big hits RBIs in the 2002-2004 playoffs besides Jones?

Also, he was genuinely classy and gracious in accepting his forced role into RF when Shannon Stewart insisted on playing LF.

Also, he has been the most consistent power production man on the Twins in the last 4 seasons.

Why would you ever want Swisher over this mench for any other reason than to save money?

by TheMattWilke on Dec 15, 2005 8:25 PM EST up reply actions

Arbitration

Jones has declined arbitration. If he hasn't officially, it's only a matter of time.

by Jesse on Dec 14, 2005 6:39 PM EST reply actions

Um, no he hasn't

Here it is, 9 and a half hours from the deadline and JJ still has the Twins balancing on the fence as to whether they can spend money or not. He must not have too great an offer on the table if he's still hedging his bets for a one year deal with the Twins. I don't think he'd ride it out to the last minute just to "stick it" to the Twins, do you?

by Gargoyle on Dec 19, 2005 3:33 PM EST reply actions