Andruw Jones had a rough year, and was especially bad in the second half of the season, hitting just .142/.256/.255 after the All-Star break. Indeed, he was so bad that the Yankees left him off of their postseason roster entirely, even though he had been brought back to the team to carry the lesser end of a DH platoon with Raul Ibanez. According to Jones himself, however, he’s far from done, and blames that second half on a finger injury he suffered just after the break. “I did it diving for a ball against Toronto at home,’’ Jones told reporters yesterday. “Hands and fingers are tough.’’
Jones claims he wants to play for four more years, and at 34 years old that’s not terribly unreasonable if he’s still capable, but I wouldn’t bank on the Yankees bringing him back on anything but a minor league contract for 2013. He simply didn’t get the job done against lefties like he did in 2011, and he’s old and slow to boot. I like to make fun of the obsession some people have with the Yankees getting younger, but it does seem like if there’s one place they could add some speed/athleticism it’s by replacing Jones. Then again, everyone has always been full of praise for Jones’ presence in the locker room, and he did have a .535 slugging percentage before the break, so if the Yankees were aware of this finger injury they could well give him another chance.
Just say "NO" to bringing back Jones in 2013. This comment by Jones is almost laughable "“I did it diving for a ball against Toronto at home,’’
Watching him in batting practice hit bombs all over the place during the second half of the season makes me wonder about his injury. If his hand was that bad, I don't think he's hitting those shots against the 65 MPH deliveries of whomever was throwing BP. It's when the velocity got ramped up in a game where Andruw looked like a very old 34. However, a positive locker room presence in one where the psyche was apparently very fragile is something to consider. A minor league deal for 2013 is worth considering, but you have to think that money might be better spent elsewhere.
Offer him $1m, If he's a dud, we can always DFA him. We do need a power RH bat on the bench.
"We do need a power RH bat on the bench. "
I was going to suggest ARod, but that "power" part disqualifies him.