One Jones good, two Jones better?
posted in 2007-08 offseason, trades |Dave Dombrowski had a productive day at the office.
The Tigers GM sent Omar Infante off to join Alan Trammell and the Cubs organization in return for left handed outfielder Jacque Jones. The newcomer will play left field, but can sub in all outfield positions. He won’t tar the ball, or play Gold Glove defense, but he does bat lefty and should be a capable starter. I’m guessing he’ll platoon with Marcus Thames some, but I would expect he’ll see a majority of the time in left.
Jones saw action in 135 games with the Cubs in 2007, batting .285 (129×453) with 33 doubles, five home runs and 66 RBI. He hit .332 (79×238) in 66 games following the all-star break for the Cubs this past season.
“We are excited to add a quality major league outfielder like Jacque Jones to the Tigers organization,” Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. “He is a proven lefthanded hitter at the major league level that fits our club well in left field.” (team release)
Reportedly Jones costs $5.5M (Cubs places say $6.3M) and the Cubs are chipping in some amount of cash, Jon Paul Morosi reports.
The second Jones move of the day was re-signing closer Todd for $7M. Not the most glamorous move, obviously, but he did the job effectively and, really, looking at the way he pitches, it’s hard to picture him “losing” all that much from his stuff. (What stuff!?) Of course, his success depends on his defense. So lets hope that holds up. I doubt they’ll pursue a closer any more, but hopefully Dombrowski can find some viable middle relievers, because it still feels like the team needs to do more it if wants to get back to the playoffs.
Sphere It
Good moves. Raburn and Santiago will fill the Infante role very well, plus they upgrade LF. I like it. Now how about a setup man…
Do the Tigers have the requisite number of lefty-mashers to spell Jones and Granderson in high-leverage situations?
I really like the Jacque Jones deal, as his power will surely rebound and he can play some defense. (Well, until you consider throwing arm.)
By which you mean guys who hit lefties? I think Thames does OK. The Tigers have always had way too many right handed hitters (by traditional estimates) anyway. So this balances things.