According to Heyman, Jones recently rejected an offer to join the Yankees as a non-roster invitee.

In the article, Heyman also discusses why the Dodgers should sign Pedro Martinez, writing:

“The Dodgers need someone like Martinez to tutor their staff. Maddux was that guy in recent seasons, and Martinez could ably fill that role. He is a sage and stable veteran.”

Mark Bowman of MLB.com believes that if Jones intends on returning to the Braves, he will have to accept a minor-league deal.

Meanwhile, according to Bowman, “Jones has told friends that he believes the Reds and Mets could make a push to acquire him.”

In a report for Yahoo! Sports, Tim Brown writes, “The Mets might take a shot at Jones.”

…might… maybe… i don’t know… i mean, i guess if we’re talking a minor-league deal, then anything is possible, for any one… but, i see no way the Mets, or any team for that matter, guarantee this guy a spot on a roster…

…also, as for rumors of the Mets looking in to jones while he was still on the Dodgers, prior to renegotiating his contract, from what i understand, it wasn’t so much that Omar Minaya was interested in jones, it’s that he was angling to swap jones’s terrible contract for Luis Castillo’s…

By the way…

In Brown’s report, he quotes Scott Boras as saying in an e-mail, “Baseball markets are like breakfast [juice vs. pancakes]… They have varying degrees of fluidity.  This is an Aunt Jemima market, but we know everyone needs a good breakfast to be a winner.”

… hello, hello, Rick Peterson, is that you…

…among people in baseball, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that jones will end up back on the Braves, probably on a minor-league deal…

In fact, according to MLB Trade Rumors, several eyewitness claim that Jones attended the Duke-Georgia Tech men’s basketball game last night, and was already wearing a Braves hat.

Speaking of outfielders…

During the Winter Meetings, Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News reported Jermaine Dye had been traded to the Reds, which proved to be incorrect.

Earlier this week, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the Angels had interest in acquiring Dye.

However, the next day, Angels GM Tony Reagins said, “No truth to that rumor,” according to Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, according to the Daily Herald, White Sox GM Ken Williams denied rumors that he is looking to even trade OF Jermaine Dye, adding, “I’m tired of responding to every blogger’s idea.”

…ah, yes, those pesky bloggers, like ESPN’s Jayson Stark, FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal and SI.com’s Jon Heyman, all of whom have mentioned dye, the White Sox and Angels in the last week… i mean, with bloggers like that in the fold, i too fear for the future of journalism… ugh…

Hmmm, I wonder if the Mets could do this with Luis Castillo?

Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes the Dodgers will contact the Mets, Braves and Reds.  However, “A source with knowledge of the trade talks said even with Jones’ salary reduced for 2009, the Mets are virtually certain to pass on a deal for the outfielder.”

I feel people may have misunderstood last week’s rumors connecting the Mets and Jones.   To me, it wasn’t so much that Omar Minaya was interested in Jones, it’s that he was angling to swap Jones’s terrible contract for Castillo’s.  However, the Dodgers have no interest in Castillo, according to published reports, and so that’s that.  In other words, no Castillo, no Jones.

By the way, according to Impacto Deportivo, Jones has left, or was asked to leave, the Dominican Winter League.

His team’s broadcasters are quoted in the article as saying Jones even looks bad on defense.

In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O’Brien suggests that the Braves look to re-acquire Jones on a minor-league deal, since he has said he would like to return to Atlanta.

Later, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com wrote, “The Dodgers are hoping to spread that money over more years.  It could be done through an extension, which would move a chunk of money off the 2009 payroll. There also is the possibility of a deferred buyout, either to facilitate a trade or allow Jones to become a free agent.”

In Queens, I believe this is known as, ‘Pulling a Bobby Bonilla.”

Last week, at ESPN.com, Buster Olney said the Mets and Dodgers once discussed a deal that would swap Jones for Luis Castillo, who is due $18 million over the next three seasons.

However, the following day, Marty Noble quoted a person familiar with the talks as saying, “Nothing is ongoing, and nothing is going to happen.”

Speaking of outfielders…

According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, the Nationals could look to trade OF Lastings Milledge before the start of the season.

The 23–year-old Milledge hit .268 with 40 extra base hits, 24 stolen bases and a .330 OBP in 523 at bats last season.

In his blog for ESPN.com today, Buster Olney writes, “The Dodgers want the Mets to take Jones… and the Mets want the Dodgers to take Castillo… But both sides have kept the porch light on, so to speak, in case the other side blinked and was willing to make their version of the trade, which is not unusual.”

Original Post:

Marty Noble at MLB.com reports that, while the Mets once had talked with the Dodgers about trading Andruw Jones for Luis Castillo, ‘nothing is ongoing, and nothing is going to happen,’ according to a person familiar with discussions.

…based on all three reports below, from olney, heyman and rosenthal, it’s pretty clear that the Mets and Dodgers talked about jones and castillo, not Juan Pierre, during the Winter Meetings, but the Dodgers had no interest in castillo and so that was the end of that…

However, at MLB.com, Los Angeles reporter Ken Gurnick reports the Dodgers would still like to trade either Jones or Pierre, while signing one of Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn.

Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times confirms the story.

Hernandez writes that Jones’ agent Scott Boras sent an email message to teams on Wednesday stating that his client would be willing to entertain offers for a shorter contract than they were initially seeking, as long as it came from ‘a competitive team.’

According to the report, Jones was believed to be looking for a contract similar to the five-year, $90 million contract that Torii Hunter signed with the Angels.

…man, imagine if jones wasn’t coming off such a sub-par season…still, 18 million a year…not a bad gig…

…you’d have to think the Dodgers would be more willing to part with Andre Ethier or Matt Kemp in a trade after picking up a run producer like Jones…

The Dodgers are more comfortable with two or three year deals.

As noted earlier today, the Dodgers were ‘stepping up’ their talks with Jones, while multiple reports suggested he could accept a two-year deal, others said he will not.

…after the year he had, it would seem andruw’s demands are a little unrealistic, especially given the strong set of center fielders available this off-season…he might be best served taking a one-year deal somewhere, putting up big numbers and re-establishing himself as a top player…he’s got scott boras as his agent, though, so who knows…

However, according to the Kansas City Star, negotiations between Kansas City and Guillen have stalled, and the Royals have begun showing interest in fellow free agent OF Andruw Jones.

Guillen is seeking a four-year deal, writes the Star, while the Royals don’t want to go past a two-year commitment, noting that they’re willing to increase the dollar amount per year in order to reach a compromise.

…as presently constituted, the Mets must be looking for a right-handed compliment to Ryan Church…but if he gets dealt, like cerrone has heard speculated, guillen could be a decent pickup for right field…a three-year deal may be a little much, though, if the Mets somehow manage to hang on to Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, whom they obviously consider their future corner outfielders…

…Update…1:26 am…

ESPN.com is reporting that Guillen and the Royals have reached a preliminary agreement, shaking hands on the three year, $36 million deal originally reported.

…i keep getting e-mails referencing a report that suggested the Mets could go offer jones if Lastings Milledge got traded…the thing is, the Mets got Ryan Church for milledge, and, according to Omar Minaya, he sees church as his every-day, starting right fielder…i do not believe the Mets have much interest in jones, unless, maybe, he’d consider a one-year deal…

…by the way, the early buzz from Nashville suggests that Aaron Rowand will likely sign a deal this week, as he continues to seek a five-year contract…once he is off the board, most people believe that jones may eventually sign for a deal between what rowand gets and what Torii Hunter got from the Angels, though i’ll believe that when i see it…