MVN - Most Valuable Network

Marlins acquire Jacque Jones — for real this time

Last year, an eleventh hour change of heart by Cubs owner Sam Zell kept Jacque Jones out of a Marlins uniform. But now that he is an unrestricted free agent, it doesn’t look like anything is going to come between him and Jeffrey Loria. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal is reporting that both sides have agreed to a deal that will bring Jones to Florida for less than $300,000. His official title will be fourth outfielder.

Going down to make room for Jones will probably be Brett Carroll. It’d be interesting to find out what Carroll did to get so deep in Fredi Gonzalez’s doghouse. Earlier this month, Gonzalez said that Carroll would get a start or two during the series in Milwaukee (May 6-9). Carroll has yet to start a game since his latest recall. Gonzalez has even gone as far as using Cody Ross as a defensive replacement instead of Carroll, who has arguably the best outfield arm in the system. This will be Brett’s second trip back to the minors this year.

For the prorated $290 K that the 33-year-old Jones will cost the Fish, he’s a low risk, potential high reward signing. If Josh Willingham misses a lot more time and if Alfredo Amezaga continues to struggle in the lead off spot, Jones, who can play all three outfield positions and has a career .340 OBP against righties, could run into a few starts. Because of his range and flexibility, he’ll also serve as the go-to defensive replacement coming off the bench.

According to the report, he’ll report to extended spring training to get back into shape (he’s been away from baseball since being DFA’d on May 5) and will likely join the Marlins sometime within the next few weeks.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 at 7:11 am and is filed under Game Recaps. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.