Yankees sign Jones as fourth outfielder
Andruw Jones burst on to the major-league scene in a big way as a 19-year-old, hitting two home runs for the Braves in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Thursday, the Yankees picked up the same guy, if not the same player.
The Yankees agreed to terms with Jones on a one-year contract for $2 million to become the team's fourth outfielder, according to a baseball source.
Jones, 33, can earn another $1.2 million in performance bonuses. He will slot in as the righthanded-hitting complement to starting leftfielder Brett Gardner and centerfielder Curtis Granderson, both of whom are lefthanded hitters.
Jones' addition means the end of the Yankees' lukewarm pursuit of Johnny Damon, a source confirmed.
Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, hit 51 home runs in 2005 and 41 in 2006 during his heyday as Atlanta's centerfielder. He has 407 career homers. But knee trouble, weight gain and a severe offensive decline turned him into a part-time player; his last full season as an everyday centerfielder was 2007.
"There's no doubt that his skills dropped off from that athletic player," a National League executive said. "Last year he did pick that up, but not to the level of where he was during those years with the Braves. There were some injuries there, but there was a definite drop-off from the player that he was."
But the Yankees don't need Jones to be the player he was. They just need him to be better than Marcus Thames, who hit lefties well in 2010 but was an adventure in the outfield. He signed with the Dodgers earlier in the week.
Jones' agent, Scott Boras, was at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday for the news conference to introduce another of his clients, Rafael Soriano. Boras then met with general manager Brian Cashman and the two sealed the deal Thursday. It will not become official until he passes a physical.
On Wednesday, Boras acknowledged that Jones was being offered only part-time roles. Jones has played for the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox in the last three seasons; he hit .230 with 19 homers and 48 RBIs in 2010 (.256-8-23 vs. lefthanders). He played all three outfield positions and started 14 games as a designated hitter.
"Andruw's a guy that really got hurt," Boras said. "He's only 33 years old. It's really been a two-year window getting his knee back to where he's at. Last year, he had 19 home runs and he got his legs back under him. So we're still thinking that Andruw Jones is pretty gifted."
With spring training less than a month away, this is the team the Yankees are likely to bring to Tampa - unless Andy Pettitte decides to pitch in 2011. Cashman is scouring the market for a pitcher to compete for a rotation spot, but the pickings are slim. He could choose to wait until the trade market loosens up in spring training or even during the season.
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