Bringing back Garrett Jones

By John Franco

It appears that the Pirates are ready to play hardball with their roster decisions this off-season. According to John Perrotto, the club plans to non-tender several players, including Ross Ohlendorf and Garrett Jones. The Pirates are assuming that they can get Jones back cheaper, or that they can find a similar option for the same price.

Jones would have been eligible for arbitration for the first time this year if the Pirates had extended an offer. He has played in 143 games this year with a line of .243-15-56. He has posted a line similar to his totals from 2010 (.247-21-86) but he has made a slightly better contribution this year due to a better glove and the weaker offense around the National League. Fangraphs has him at 0.7 WAR (wins above replacement) compared to 0.2 WAR last year.

Normally it wouldn’t be exciting for the Pirates to bring back someone who was worth less than one win, but bringing back Jones is not a bad idea given his versatility. With a planned outfield featuring Alex Presley and Jose Tabata in the corners, they will be at risk for regression and injury. The Pirates probably won’t plan to start Jones at first base (re-signing Derrek Lee might be at the top of that agenda) but he could also be a serviceable backup there.

Unfortunately, other than Lee and Jones, the Pirates’ options at first base might be limited. The list of possible free agents isn’t exciting (other than Michael Cuddyer, who would offer similar flexibility to Jones, but would probably cost a lot more after a .285-19-68 season with the Twins). They have Matt Hague in the minors (he hit .309/.372/.457 at Triple-A Indianapolis) and I’d like to see him get a chance at some point in 2012, but I’m not sure the Pirates will give him a chance to start the year.

So, non-tendering Jones and trying to bring him back is probably the right move. It gives the Pirates the flexibility to pursue Lee (for better or worse), promote Hague, or sign a different 4th outfielder (hopefully one better than Matt Diaz). If none of those plans work out, or the Pirates want a little extra flexibility, then can bring Jones back for less than he would have cost them in arbitration.