Andruw Jones

by snolls on Jan 20, 2011 4:37 PM EST

I was really surprised at the price the Yankees paid for Andruw Jones. It made me think the Twins should have been bidding. I have some stats, per fangraphs, below.

Jones (RH)

Career lines .256/.338/.488, I focus on .338 OBP, .231 ISO, wOBA of .353

2010 lines .230/.341/.486, focusing on .341 OBP, .255 ISO, wOBA of .364.

Bill James projects 2011 wOBA at .339, which is in line with 2009, higher than '07-'08, and lower than the rest of his career, basically, so a reasonable guess to me.

UZR/150: 2.2 in 2010 was the worst of his career. 18.7 for his career, though you would expect that to be declining quickly. He can play any position in the OF.

Kubel (LH)

Career lines .271/.335/.463, I focus on .335 OBP, .192 ISO, wOBA of .343

2010 lines .249/.323/.427, focusing on .323 OBP, .178 ISO, wOBA of .326.

Bill James projects 2011 wOBA at .364, which seems optimistic to me (though that depends on what % of his PAs come against LHP).

UZR/150: Around -18. Awful!!!!

To me, Jones looks like the preferable hitter. More importantly, he would be a great platoon for Thome/Kubel, and a good bench bat to have. He would also improve our OF defense, and be a backup CF if Span goes down. At $2-3 million, I think it would have been a great deal.

Lastly, if Morneau was injured again, Then Cuddyer goes to 1B, Jones to the OF, and our lineup looks a lot better, in my opinion.

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All very good points

You make a very good argument, and it does seem like a signing that the Twins maybe should’ve considered, as an upgrade over Repko (who’s already 30, so it’s not like they need to view him as a long-term piece).

One thing I’d note, which may have been a deal-breaker for the Twins – I don’t think anyone really views Jones as a centerfielder anymore. He’s started less than 70 games there in the three years since he left the Braves, and from what I’ve read about him, there’s a perception that he no longer has the range to play there regularly. I’m not sure the team would be comfortable trotting him out there every day in the event that Span got hurt (although considering their primary backup there to start last year was Cuddyer, I’m probably overstating this).

Also, from a sunk cost perspective, they had to make a decision on Repko before the current free agent deal season due to arbitration, so they probably weren’t really doing any backup outfielder shopping – I think Repko’s contract is guaranteed, and they really would’ve had to be blown away to jettison him.

Assuming Jones is better than Cuddyer defensively, though, and that he could be used at least occasionally in center, I’m totally with you that this would’ve been a good acquisition for the Twins.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Jan 20, 2011 5:52 PM EST reply actions

Agree with the post and Beefy's comment.

But Repko seems to be one of those guys like Butera and Punto who the org loves so much for their defense that they just don’t seem to care about the rest. At all. He is cheap, so I guess there’s that.

by Luke in MN on Jan 20, 2011 6:22 PM EST reply actions

I'd like to see Jones lose 15 pounds if the Twins signed him.

by benhertz on Jan 20, 2011 6:24 PM EST reply actions

and since the Yanks signed him, I'd like to see him gain 30.

by Luke in MN on Jan 20, 2011 6:26 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

+100

If he eats Mark Teixeira

JIM JAMS BUSINESS IS MASHING TATERS, AND BUSINESS IS GOOD!!!

by MashinTaters on Jan 20, 2011 7:05 PM EST reply actions

I watched Jones last year

in the outfield, at the plate and on the bases. He looks as though he’s done: slow, fat and unable to make things happen. I remember one game against some bottom dweller where, they hit a fly ball in the gap in the late innings and Jones ran under it and tried that basket catch he does, and the ball popped out and went to the wall. Chicago ended up losing. Do you think there’s a reason the Sox arent’ even trying to bring him back? Good luck Yanks, you get what you pay for in life.

by Old Twins Cap on Jan 20, 2011 9:47 PM EST reply actions