Yankees Close To Deal With Andruw Jones

According to Tim Brown of Yahoo, the Yankees are closing in on a one year deal with free agent outfielder Andruw Jones. Here are the numbers that attract the Yankees, summarized by our own Matt Imbrogno:

In 2009, Jones was even against righties (.337 wOBA) and lefties (.336 wOBA). In 2010, there was a more pronounced split, but both numbers were good: .342 vs. RHP and .402 vs. LHP. 2009 is a closer representation of Jones’ platoon numbers, though. His career numbers are .355 vs. LHP and .352 vs. RHP.

As for his fielding, here is what Steve S. had to say:

The role they’d be looking for Jones to assume is to replace the Lefty masher that Thames was last year, but with better defense. Marcus Thames was magic with the bat last year, but was circus act in Left. While Jones is no longer thought of as the elite defender he was in his heyday as a CF, he can still play the corners adequately, if not better. Fangraphs gave him a robust 38.0 UZR/150 in 2009 with Texas, and 2.2 UZR/150 last season with the ChiSox.

Thames with better defense is an apt description of what you can expect from Jones. His superior defense is important now that the Yankees have a full time DH in Jorge Posada, as most of the available playing time for a bench bat on the Yankees will go to someone who can spell Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner in the outfield when the opposition starts a tough lefty. Jones should be equal to the task, and that makes him a strong fit for the empty 4th outfielder slot.

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