Boras Blog

Andruw to the Rangers

Scott Boras and Andruw Jones agreed to a minor league deal with the Rangers.  Deal includes a player opt-out in May 20th, so there is no reason not to accept this deal.  Andruw can go into camp, show off his slimmed down body, and impress another team (or even the Rangers) enough to sign him to a better deal after he opts out.  I cant understand what possible reason there is for the Rangers to give him a March 20th opt-out - the deal provides zero upside for them.  Here is another good write-up of the deal.

Eight Teams Search for Missing Burgers

The Atlanta Journal Constitution examines whether the Braves should sign Andruw Jones.

Agent Scott Boras said eight teams called Friday about the center fielder, and Boras said he would soon discuss with Jones his various options.

Considering that there wont be much of a cost involved, it is difficult to speculate on who those teams are - any team would take a free flyer on a rebound.  The trick for Boras will be to find a home that has the best path towards playing time, so Andruw can have the time to play himself back into shape and re-establish himself.

While the Braves are the obvious choice, it does not appear to be a slam dunk:

“We have to look at it and it and discuss it,” said Wren, whose 40-man roster is currently full. “It’s not every day a situation like [Jones] comes up. It’s more complicated than just ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ “

A Fresh Start

Its official - the Dodgers released Andruw Jones.

Scott Boras, Jones' agent, approached the Dodgers with the plan to get Jones a fresh start. Deferring the salary from the back-loaded contract provides the Dodgers with some payroll flexibility that could facilitate the re-signing of another Boras client, Manny Ramirez.

So Andruw gets his chance to get back into shape and set himself up for a possible contract following 2009, and the Dodgers open up an OF spot for either Pierre or Manny.  Its hard to believe that Andruw Jones is only 31 years old and that he hit 92 homers with 257 rbi from 2005-2006.  Well, I should say that he is "officially" 31 years old - he passes for 31 about as well as this guy passed for a 10 year old.

Sure Andruw looks completely finished, sure he was kicked off his winter ball team, but we have seen other guys like Jason Giambi and Carlos Delgado come back from the brink.  Sabernomics sees a little bit of upside, so we'll see.  First thing first - Boras has to find a full time job for Andruw - but with Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones penciled in at LF for Atlanta, that shouldnt be a problem.  If Andruw ends up in Atlanta and Manny in LA, this will turn out to be a very creative solution to two problems.