Well how about that?
In a move that comes as somewhat of a surprise, the Minnesota Twins placed Jason Pridie on waivers in order to make room on the 40-man roster for Orlando Hudson. Once again, the 40-man roster is full. For Pridie fans, don't worry too much as he's already found a home with the New York Mets. He appeared in ten games with the Twins in 2008 and one game in 2009, amassing a .000/.200/.000 line in just four at-bats.
The bigger news this afternoon is that the Twins have brought back one of the original members of The Soul Patrol: Jacque Jones.
Jones will be 35 in 2010, and hasn't played in the majors since his paltry .246 OPS between the Tigers and Marlins in 2008. He has an invitation to spring training on a minor league deal, and it sounds like he won't have a problem waiting in the wings if he doesn't make the trip north.
We all have our own memories of Jones--the bat flip after the uppercut home run swing, the air-mail throws from the corner outfield spots, the strikeouts. His strengths seemed to be his defense in left and in center, and his ability to hit a ridiculous number of flyballs out of the park. But that power disappeared in 2007, when he hit .285 but slugged a career-low .400. 2008 was just painful, and we probably shouldn't talk about it too much. It just wasn't good.
But now it's all come full circle for Jacque, Minnesota's second-round draft pick in 1996. He'll have an opportunity to play his way back to the Twins one last time, and with a history of playing all three outfield positions he might be able to find a niche. If he doesn't make it back to the majors this will likely be the end of his comeback, but at least he'll finish where he started.
And I always thought there was something kind of poetic about that.
Jacque Jones
#-- / Minnesota Twins
5-10
200
Apr 25, 1975