The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with OF/DH Andruw Jones on a one-year, $2 million contract. The contract also affords Jones the opportunity to earn an additional $1.2 million in incentives. Jones will be used a fourth outfielder and can play all three outfield positions. Last season he batted .230 with 19 home runs, 48 runs batted in and nine stolen bases while playing impeccable defense for the Chicago White Sox. Jones is also expected to platoon on-and-off with LF/CF Brett Gardner, CF Curtis Granderson, and RF Nick Swisher.
Jones is essentially replacing DH/LF Marcus Thames on the Yankees roster and will fill a similar role as Thames did in 2010. Thames was meant to be a righthanded complement to Gardner, Granderson, and DH/1B Nick Johnson but wound getting the bulk of the playing time at DH during the course of the season after Johnson's season ended due to another injury. With DH/C Jorge Posada expected to play DH full time this season the Yankees wanted an outfielder with similar skills to Thames but who could also provide more reliable defense in the outfield. Jones is a ten time Gold Glove Award winner and is considered to be one of the best defensive outfielders of all time.
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