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In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing ‘someone close to the situation,’ Braves beat writer David O’Brien writes that the Mets may have interest in free-agent OF Andruw Jones, as do the Dodgers, Rangers, Giants and White Sox.
…i guess the thinking would be to move Carlos Beltran to a corner position, which is actually something i am very much in favor of…admittedly, though, i have not done a whole lot of work on these subjects over the last few days…that being the case, my sense so far has been that if the Mets are to acquire any players during this off-season they’re either going to be pitchers or players who play hard…and, having watched him over the last few years, jones does not have either of those traits…plus, does the Mets lineup really need 120 more strike outs in the middle of it, and so that would mean adding a top defensive center fielder, and last i checked, that was not the team’s biggest problem either…i do not doubt that this is being discussed, i just don’t understand why it would ever actually happen…seriously, what problem does this solve, and what need would it fill…
O’Brien also explains why he believes Tom Glavine will eventually return to the Braves, but noting that it will not be a smooth negotiation.
Pass…. Let Andruw Jones figure out how to hit for a better average on a different team. Not to mention the price tag that we would have to pay for those 120 strikeouts. Delgado and Jones in the middle of the lineup makes me shiver.
Makes sense that the Mets would make this kind of move because it makes NO SENSE. Beltran is your CF, not Andruw. Beltran is your marquee player. You don’t move him around (like Reyes for Matsui). It is a bad move with a lot of bad messages sent because of it.
I would HOPE this is a bogus rumor as most are…
exactly–the guy batted .220 in his WALK YEAR!!!!!!
I have really mixed feelings over Jones. His bat is still potent but his BA and OBP have been really lousy the last few years. I’d prefer them to go after high-OBP hitters. Jones was a rally killer all year in Atlanta and Braves fans where whining about Cox keeping him in the middle of the lineup.
Fukudome is one who has a high OBP, though it would probably drop initially in the U.S. I’d rather the Mets go after him and at least they won’t lose a draft pick.
No thanks, i cant even believe that you are considering this….
#1 – Jones is lazy
# 2 – he batted .225 this season
# 3 – he defensive skills have declined over the past few years
Can we stop discussing moving players from there natural positions too. It didn’t work for matsui or cameron. Beltran has been fine in Centerfield and if we decide sometime in the near future we need to get more athletic out there, why woudln’t we move Gomez over there.
This is a bad idea on so many levels, i hope in truth it is just a bogus rumor, but it pains me to hear it even being discussed.
Will the team ever learn, they moved Reyes to 2B and it went terribly, the Moved Mike Cameron, one of the Best Centerfielders in the Game to RF and that went bad, moving Beltran would be just as bad. Bletran is a very mopey player as it is, he mopes when hes hurt, he mopes when the fans are getting on him, move him to RF next year and you might as well give him a toothpick to hit with because he isnt going to produce worth anythign at the plate.
This is a terrible idea, that being said, knowing the teams track record for terrible ideas, i wouldnt be suprised if this happened
Why would you move Beltran from CF? I understand about saving his knees, but replace him with somebody better than him.
Aaron Rowand? He’s not be better, but isn’t a terrible drop.
I like Rowand. I wonder what its gonna take to pry him out of Philly, he’s going to want boffo dollars….
Signing A. Jones would be useless on so many levels.
First, we would be using a big chunk of the offseason budget on a position that is already filled by an all-star. Second, he is exactly the type of player that this team doesn’t need. The lineup was not a problem last year, it wasn’t even a problem down the stretch. Third, he has lost a step in CF and was awful at the plate last year – that screams a player on a possible decline. Yes, he’s relatively young, but he has a lot of tred on his tires since he’s been playing at a high level since the Fall of 1996.
Pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching.
“Pitching, pitching, pitching, and more pitching.”
Amen.
I’d rather they spend money fixing the bullpen and eating the contract of Mota then getting bogged down in a multi-year deal for an aging outfielder whose best years are over.
Would it to be too much to ask to eat both Mota’s contract and eat the majority of Schoeneweis’s contract by packaging him in a trade for a change of scenery somewhere?
Please don’t even dignify the rumors involving Andruw Jones and Adam Dunn…the less press, the better. Let’s not give anyone in the front office any ideas. Trot those two out with Delgado, and see how many rally-killing Ks we get outta the 5, 6, 7 in the lineup. We need to stay far, FAR away from these chumps.
i agree with jones but dunn would be an excellent addition to this team he essentially had the same numbers as ryan howard this year with 34 less K’s, tell me you wouldnt want ryan howard on the mets.
Adam Dunn is window dressing for a third-place team.
I’m not saying I want this move to happen, but didn’t Beltran come up as a corner outfielder with the Royals? Johnny Damon was their centerfielder for Beltran’s first two seasons (the second of which he spent the majority of in the minors), and then when they traded Damon after the 2000 season they moved Beltran to centerfield. So it’s not exactly like moving Reyes to second, it’s moving a guy who was a converted corner outfielder back to his original position. Again, I don’t want this (if they’re intent on signing a CF, I’d rather them get Torii Hunter), just pointing something out.
Also, it’s obviously not gonna happen, but could you imagine if the Mets signed Hunter AND Jones. I don’t think a single fly ball would land in the outfield all year.
If the ball is hit to shallow center field we might lose 5 players on one play.
if im not mistaken he actually came up as an infielder and was converted to OF when the royals started losing guys like dye and damon.
No, you’re thinking of the Royals’ other Carlos, Carlos Febles who flamed out.
well ill be the first to admit i dont pay much attention to the AL so i wrong…..but hey i had the 1st name right.
I can’t understand why the Mets would consider Jones, unless they thought he would be undervalued and it was in anticipation of trading their young outfielders, like Milledge.
And I’m also confused why anyone wants to move Beltran out of center. He still is one of the best defensive center fielders out there.
I think it stems from wanting to save some of the stress on his legs. I don’t know how much I value that difference. Although a healthy Beltran usually means a mashing Beltran.
I just think his agent is throwing “New York” into the mix to up his asking price. I would bet money that Andruw will not be in a Mets jersey next year.
Yes, as in Scott Boras.
dont worry scott boras will get someone to pay him handsomely once he convinces enough people out there that the mets and yankees are offering 15-17 mill a year.
I can see moving Beltran at some point just to give his legs a break. But, it is more likely IMO if it is because the mets have a young guy (like Gomez) that can really outdo Beltran at that point.
Let Jones go to the Stankees. let them collect all the decrepit CFs that can’t play the position anymore.
Jones is the classic case of a guy on the downhill slide of his career, and he gives off the aura of a player that is going to fall fast, and hit bottom hard.
i doubt it will happen but i dont think its nearly as bad as some people. beltran in LF would be fine – run less, use the cannon arm more. a jones had a horrible contract year so you would be getting him cheap(er). you would want a lot of incentives in the contract and not for more than 5 years, and i doubt boras would go for that.
if you ask me jones is still going to command a mid teens million dollar contract, no matter how bad his contract year was, pass.
I agree, it is just the nature of the beast.
Note to Omar:
Met fans hate you right now after not continuing to strengthen the team after the 2006 playoffs. Granted, if you grab a player like Johan that hate will turn to a quick love. On the contrary, signing Andrew Jones, a player we have hated for years won’t get you out of the dog house. Focus on Pitching!
haha, if omar signs andruw jones he and willie might as well start sending out resumes now and get a head start.
Beltran is currently head and shoulders above Jones defensively. Beltran is a much, much better defensive player than Jones.
If anything, you sign Jones to play rightfield. But I still think it’s a bad idea.
does anyone know if andruw jones is due to have the baby hes pregnant with before spring training?
jones is getting older. we already have beltran, alou looks like hes coming back, and we have milledge/gomez/chavez/martinez for the future. not to mention, everyones talking about how this is bad for our defense and chemistry, but i think its best to pass on another feast or famine hitter. we have delgado who either strikes out or hits a home run. theres nothing more frustrating than having a player in the middle of the order strike out with runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs. delgado did that a lot las tyear, and i def dont want to add another player like that
Oh God, no, please no! Jones is a disaster waiting to happen.
We need pitching and catching, period. Omar needs to get his priorities straight this winter. Enough screwing around.
Yeah, adding Dunn and Jones would add 220 Ks to our line-up. Let’s sandwich them around Delgado. With all those swings and misses, we’d never have to turn on the fans at Shea~:c)
Seriously though, the one thing that bothered me about the Alou signing was that we had to give up a first round pick, because he was an “A” list player. I assume that Jones and Dunn will both be the same. I’m tired of giving up our first rounders for flawed players. There is a reason why the Braves aren’t even making a minor effort to resign Jones, and I’ll be it’s not all about the money.
Although if they take Glavine, I bet we’ll get their #1 pick (Glavine’s innings alone over the last few seasons should make him a type A right?); and after they traded away their farm for naught this season, they really need the picks. They’ll get one for Jones sure, but they’ll lose one for Glavine. Plus he’ll get the Mets an extra sandwich pick right (could be completely wrong, the whole FA types and draft picks is pretty confusing).
I’d like to see ANY other center fielder make the play that Beltran did going up the hill in Houston.
This is an absolutely horrible idea. He’s anti-clutch, hitting .237 over the last 3 years with RISP and .200 with runners on 2nd and 3rd. I’m not even sure he’s a better CF than Beltran at this point, and even if he is, it’s not by much. I cannot believe that this is being seriously considered by the Mets. The mere thought of this makes me cringe.
Andruw to the Yanks! Do it, Cashman!
I’m with you guys. Plus, I’m tired of my team singing old decrepit Braves players, like Glavine and Franco.
I think the only way the Mets make a significant OF acquisition of any kind is if they can somehow find a match on the trade market for a big pitcher using Lastins Milledge. If that happens, it makes total sense to find an OF, and in this market, a RF might be easier to replace than Tom Glavine’s 200 IP. It actually might be quite Savvy of Omar to turn a pitching need into a RF need if he can, especially since there Mets farm already has a bit more depth in the OF.
I know I’m gonna get the crap flamed out of me for saying this, but I think in a way you have to consider Bobby Abreu a candidate. He’s a left handed RF, and sure he’s not much of a #3 hitter anymore, but he’d be an awesome #7 or #8 hitter or even a #2 if Castillo walks. If the Mets could convince him to come over and hit that low in the order, it would be quite a fit. First, the Mets could use another lefty to keep the lineup balanced, and second, I’d almost prefer a guy who walks a ton and never Ks and sees a ton of pitches over a guy who Ks 120-140 times a year. He also has a nice arm and a decent glove (although we know about his wall-phobia), and we wouldn’t have to make anyone play out of position.
If you give him three years and maybe like $25 milion, you can move him to LF in 2009 and start Gomez in RF (assuming he’s still around). He still gives you just enough pop and plenty of OBP to justify that. And then in 2010, he’ll basically be what Shawn Green was in 2007, and will have to compete with Fernando Martinez for his job.
The thing that this team missed this year that no one EVER talks about is Jose Valentin in the bottom of the order. Valentin’s 2006 was probably the best season the Mets ever had out of a #8 hitter. He really did everything you could have asked. Sure he Ked a bit more than you want, and his contact rate wasn’t through the roof, but he gave you good veteran ABs and excellent RBI and power production. You’re not getting those RBIs from LoDuca (minus September 07) or Green or Chavez, and your not getting the quality veteran ABs from Milledge, and your not really getting either from Gomez. Jose Valentin very quietly made the Mets lineup exponentially more dangerous. Having Bobby Abreu at the bottom of the order could do the same, or if you can’t retain Castillo you could have him hit #2 to take pitches for Reyes and then put the ball in play after Reyes is already on second.
When you think about it, Abreu would just be a slight upgrade over Green. He still has a bit more pop, has a better contact and BB rate, and a slightly better glove. Plus you wouldn’t have to deal with moving a good all around CF to move to RF, or with the tons of Ks you’d get with some of the big power bats out there.
So if you can go and scalp your farm for Johan Santana or trade a couple prospects for Joe Blanton and it would take Lastings Milledge (and more of course) to do so, this is probably more reasonable than a lot of the options being discussed. But its completely unnecessary unless you’re dealing Milledge for pitching. Pitching must come first.