Jacque Jones
by letsgobuccos79 on Jan 16, 2009 12:10 AM EST
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PrintOf all the free agent outfielders left for the Pirates to pick over, the only one that jumps off the page to me is Jacque Jones. At this point, any players worth spending a lot of money on have already been taken by other teams. Jones made a little over six million last year and considering he hit only .147 in 42 games with FLA and DET he would command a much lower salary. With the exception of last season, Jones has hit .285 or better in all but two of his previous nine seasons and has played at least 135 games in eight of those nine. His career numbers are good and with his off year last season his salary will certainly be lower. As long as it is five million dollars or lower, I think the Pirates should make an offer to Jones. He hit .314 in 29 winter ball games and as long as he can prove his eye surgery isn't affecting him, I see nothing to lose by offering him a deal.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editor (Charlie) or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.
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No...
the only way I would sign him is if he accepted a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
A Queston
What can Jacque Jones do for the Pirates at, say, $3 million that Brandon Moss can’t do at $400,000? Why would you want to pay that money to a well-travelled, very average player like Jones? How is he going to help the Pirates in 2009 OR beyond?
I Agree
I don’t want the Pirates to spend a ton of money on this guy either nor do I want him signed for multiple years, but I do think he could help. I like Moss and Nyger but both of them are unproven. Neither have reached the 100 game mark and with Pearce, McCutchen and Tabata still having work to do, that leaves us with no other outfield options. I feel the Pirates need a veteran guy with a solid bat to add another option to this weak outfield only until Pearce, McCutch and Tabata are ready. He could act as a mentor as well as another potential bat in the lineup. As long as we would get him cheap then I’m all for it.
Tabata Needs Some More Seasoning ...
but the Pirates are not the Yankess or the Red Sox.
Tabata is a potential star/impact player in Pittsburgh and may be only a year away. But most importantly, the Pirates need to find someone who can help Tabata to get his head on straight and to understand what it takes to be a consistent major league performer. He has all the physical tools. The Pirates need to work on his ‘mental’ approach to the game.
Pearce is as ready as he is ever going to be for the Pirates. The Pirates need to find out right away if Pearce can cut it in Pittsburgh.
If Pearce can’t play in Pittsburgh in 2009, he probably won’t be able to help anybody else either down the road. Let him play, especially against lefthanders. He along with Moss, are potentially our most productive outfield bats after McLouth.
I don’t want to hear any excuses about Moss’ knee. He needs to play right field everyday against righthanders and prove himself.
I Agree With Everything But...
Pearce was in single A only two seasons ago. It’s way to early to pronounce him dead.
But I agree about Moss and Tabata, but Craig Monroe as our backup outfielder? We need someone else to put in there and I just feel that a cheap Jones would be worth it.
by letsgobuccos79 on Jan 16, 2009 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
Steve Pearce Will Be 26 in April, Plus...
two years ago, he zoomed from A ball to Altoona and I believe ended up with a stint in Indianapolis and maybe Pittsburgh as well. (I’m too lazy to check it out!).
So at 26 and after three or four years in the minors after the U of South Carolina, he should be ready to play in the bigs. If he isn’t, it is likely that he never will have much of a big league career..
The problem with the Pirates (and many other franchises) is that they expect the players they sign to figure out the game on their own, both physically and mentally. There are very few players that can do that, and those players are usually exceptionally skilled athletes physically.
Was Jose Guillen ready for the big leagues when the Pirates brought him up as a rookie?
Physically – possibly
Mentally – No way
When player development is discussed, the player must have the physical skills to play in the major leagues. But if the mental makeup isn’t there, or if it isn’t refined by “teachers”, the player will not have a significant major league career or make a significan contribution to the team’s W-L record.
Tough
That’s the only thing I couldn’t decide. What is he worth? I don’t know what shape he is in physically right now, but if he is looking good, his upside is worth $3 mil.
And as for the mental makeup, I completely agree. Possibly throw Chris Duffy in there.
by letsgobuccos79 on Jan 16, 2009 8:20 PM EST up reply actions
I think
Duffy signed with somebody else, didn’t he?
Yea
I knew that, but he wasn’t there mentally while he was with us.
by letsgobuccos79 on Jan 16, 2009 10:35 PM EST up reply actions
Not a big fan of Jones
He’s never been any good at getting on base, so the only way his bat played in a corner was because it was attached to a CF-type pair of legs. And now that he’s mostly lost his speed (bat speed too), there isn’t much chance of him being a useful contributor. I could live with a NRI, but that’s about it.
I do think that we need to add a LF from somewhere, though, because a full year of Nyjer is a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, a lot of the better minor league FAs at the position (John Rodriguez, Mitch Jones, etc.) are gone now. We may have to spend actual money to address the situation.
Hey, Pat:
You know whether Fernando Seguignol re-upped with Tohoku Rakuten? He signed at midseason last year – wasn’t sure whether it was just for the remainder of the season or not.
Wouldn’t mind a look at him. Always liked him, back in his Montreal days.
As far as I know he will be back with them.
He has bad knees and it’s best for him to stay in a league that uses the DH.
The ever-dependable hitting maching Rick Short will also be back with the club.
Look...
If Jones is healthy, this might be a reasonable pick up for say 3-4 million if that’s available. No one knows what Brandon Moss brings to the table, at all. He might be healthy, he might not be, complete unknown. Is there really any benefit to saving an additonal 4 million by not signing Jones and keeping it in the pockets? Look, if Jones has a rebound year and puts up some decent numbers, we’re able to ship him to a contender looking for an extra guy on the bench or possibly to replace an injured player. This could maybe net the Pirates two decent prospects if all were to go right. If all were to go wrong, we aren’t out that much money anyways. I say make Jones an offer and see what happens.
If Ty Cobb had a rebound year, we could ship him to a contender, too.
The one is just about as likely as the other, at this point.
He’s done.
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