Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end, or at least until after you subscribe to the newsletter.
* * *
Andruw Jones is reportedly getting ready to retire. Now, unless you’re a baseball connoisseur who doesn’t let silly things such as international borders and language barriers stop you from watching other leagues, then you probably figured that this happened after his 2012 campaign with the New York Yankees. That’s when Jones couldn’t latch onto another Major League team for the 2013 season and decided to take his talents overseas. However, he played two more seasons in Japan before declaring that he’d give the majors another shot in 2016.
The writing was on the wall, though, and now Andruw Jones is getting ready to file retirement papers. So ends the career of one of the most fascinating players to come out of the 1990s. Jones burst onto the scene by becoming the youngest player to ever hit a home run in the World Series, and from that point on his career reached a peak that could’ve been considered Hall of Fame-worthy. However, the descent from that peak was a long and precipitous drop — one that saw a player who was once a speedy defensive dynamo turn into a lumbering slugger with a high strikeout rate.
While cities like Los Angeles and Dallas probably won’t remember Andruw Jones fondly, one city definitely will: Atlanta. Even though the end was pretty ugly (A slash line of .222/.311/.413 in his final season as a Brave will do that), there were far more good times than bad, and he’ll probably receive a hero’s welcome once the Braves finally get around to bringing him back to the organization in a special role and/or retiring his number. He may not receive induction into Cooperstown, but he’ll be properly remembered for being one of the key figures of that golden age of Braves teams, and that’s not a bad way to end what’s been a fascinating career.
- The Brewers and Diamondbacks completed a five-man trade on Saturday, with Jean Segura and Aaron Hill being the two biggest names switching uniforms in this deal.
- Arizona may not be finished making deals yet, as their GM recently indicated that he’d be open to picking up a reliever to fill the role of closer — even though they already have Brad Ziegler as a closer.
- Yovani Gallardo and Dexter Fowler are still available on the free agent market, and the Orioles could be a likely destination for both players.
- It’s (once again) a good time to be a Yankees fan, as the team is not only competitive now, but set up for a bright future as well.
- Cleveland manager Terry Francona believes that his front office still has “one trick up their sleeves” left before Hot Stove season ends.
- Speaking of Cleveland, the unofficial Mayor of that town recently had a uniform snafu, and Jason Kipnis was on hand to document it on his Instagram page.
- White Sox GM Rick Hahn is feeling bullish about Chicago’s chances in 2016, and also said that they aren’t finished making moves just yet.
- Jerry Dipoto has had a whirlwind of a winter as he began his time as Mariners GM, and he recently talked about it all in an interview with the Seattle Times.
- The Rockies haven’t exactly received rave reviews for their trade acumen after moving Corey Dickerson to Tampa Bay, and the folks over at Purple Row are not pleased.
- The Dodgers have plenty of second basemen at their disposal, which explains why they’ve probably asked Howie Kendrick to play some third base for them.
