Jacque's Future

As most are undoubtedly aware, right-fielder Jacque Jones' contract with the Twins has expired and he will be a free agent this winter. With Jason Kubel hopefully being ready to return from a devastating knee injury next year and Lew Ford also showing the ability to be a possible starter, there is a lot of sentiment that the Twins will not make an effort to bring Jones back. And I couldn't be happier.

I have made no secret of my distaste for Jones on this blog. He puts up decent numbers and has a knack for the occasional dramatic home run, but in general his total inability to hit left-handed pitching and complete lack of any semblance of patience at the plate in his entire career, not to mention his poor base-running ability, have caused me to grow weary of him. The San Diego Union reports that the Padres have a great deal of interest in him. This makes sense, since Jones is a San Diego native and there is a very good chance the Padres will not re-sign their current right fielder, Brian Giles. There is also some speculation that the Mariners and Cardinals, among others.

I always felt that once Jacque's contract expired, some team was going to overpay him because he puts up decent power numbers and he has decent speed. From watching him on an everyday basis over his entire career, I can say that the only thing he can do consistently is ground out to second base, and I am more than ready for the Twins to go another direction in right field. I think I'd rather see Michael Cuddyer starting out there, to be totally honest.

Wherever Jones ends up, good luck to him. It should be interesting to see what type of contract he lands.