Orioles Will Face Tough Decision On Adam Jones After 2018 Season

[PressBoxOnline]

After 10 years, it seems hard to fathom a Baltimore Orioles team without Adam Jones in center field, but that's a reality the Orioles could face after the 2018 season.

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/10/19/orioles-will-face-tough-decision-on-adam-jones-after-2018-season

[Tx Oriole]

37 minutes ago, PressBoxOnline said:

After 10 years, it seems hard to fathom a Baltimore Orioles team without Adam Jones in center field, but that's a reality the Orioles could face after the 2018 season.

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/10/19/orioles-will-face-tough-decision-on-adam-jones-after-2018-season

Would he be good in RF?

[TommyPickles]

I feel like a lot of the decision will come down to next season. How he plays? What kind of team the Os end up being?

Jones is my favorite player in the game, so I'm clearly biased. But that being said, I think there is a mutually beneficial situation where he signs an extension.

 

In 2017 he posted his best OPS (.787) in four years. He posted his best OBP (.322) and best Avg. (.285) in five years.

Plus all the intangible value of being a leader, a mentor, a fan favorite, a Heart and Hustle Award winner, a Roberto Clemente Award winner, and advocate for inner city kids getting into baseball...

Move the man to RF, find a reasonable number for three years or so, and one day this first-ballot Oriole's HOFer will have his own statue in center field.

[CP0861]

Hard to imagine.  The next 12 months will be very very interesting.

 

[NCRaven]

Adam will be entering free agency in his 34 year old season.  If he was anyone else, we would all be saying "run away, run away."  Loved the 10 years he's been with us, but I doubt we would love his year 34-35-36 seasons.  Objectively, I'd be looking to move him at the trade deadline next year unless we're really in contention.

[Babypowder]

54 minutes ago, TommyPickles said:

I feel like a lot of the decision will come down to next season. How he plays? What kind of team the Os end up being?

Jones is my favorite player in the game, so I'm clearly biased. But that being said, I think there is a mutually beneficial situation where he signs an extension.

 

In 2017 he posted his best OPS (.787) in four years. He posted his best OBP (.322) and best Avg. (.285) in five years.

Plus all the intangible value of being a leader, a mentor, a fan favorite, a Heart and Hustle Award winner, a Roberto Clemente Award winner, and advocate for inner city kids getting into baseball...

Move the man to RF, find a reasonable number for three years or so, and one day this first-ballot Oriole's HOFer will have his own statue in center field.

Offense was way up in the league in 2017. His offense was good for a 107 wRC+. While that was a rebound from the 97 he put up in 2016, it doesn't alleviate my concern that we are still watching a once good player steadily decline. His last 6 offensive years wRC+ have gone 127, 119, 117, 111, 97, 107. That's still a pretty clear decline. According to Fangraphs he is also coming off of his worst defensive season ever, and every year he gets more and more banged up.

If he moves to RF, a 107 wRC+ would have put him 13th among qualified RFers in 2017, between Shin Soo Choo and Curtis Granderson. That's assuming he will stay at that level over the next few seasons, which looking at his trends doesn't seem likely. Since I don't expect anything better than even an average player, and I'm not even sure I expect that going forward, I guess I won't be upset if they can keep him around short term on a very cheap deal. Otherwise, although I have enjoyed his career here, it will be time to say goodbye and good luck.

[Jammer7]

Hard to believe the Angelos family would not make an earnest effort to bring him back for a few more years. What he has meant to the organization and the community during his tenure should bring some measure of loyalty. Depends on what he wants $$ wise to stay. And is he willing to go to RF without kicking and screaming? I read an interview on MASN where he talked about getting more days off to stay fresh and healthy. Perhaps he would embrace the move for 2018 if we can replace him with a CF he respects.

[mdbdotcom]

Adam willl have some say in the matter. I expect to see him in San Diego in 2019. He loves Baltimore, but home is where his heart is.

[Luke-OH]

This is an extremely hard decision from an emotional prospective but a very easy decision from a trying to win standpoint (especially if Hays or Mullins has a strong 2018).  I’d love for the team to keep him in some role, but playing him to be a regular for a couple more years after 2018 is not t a good move.

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, phillyOs119 said:

This is an extremely hard decision from an emotional prospective but a very easy decision from a trying to win standpoint (especially if Hays or Mullins has a strong 2018).  I’d love for the team to keep him in some role, but playing him to be a regular for a couple more years after 2018 is not t a good move.

What kind of arm strength does Mullins have?  Adam and Hays arms are strong.   Will there be a drop off with Mullins?

[Ohfan67]

12 minutes ago, phillyOs119 said:

This is an extremely hard decision from an emotional prospective but a very easy decision from a trying to win standpoint (especially if Hays or Mullins has a strong 2018).  I’d love for the team to keep him in some role, but playing him to be a regular for a couple more years after 2018 is not t a good move.

Absolutely. Love Adam, but the Orioles should not extend or resign him. Go younger, go cheaper. 

[Redskins Rick]

4 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

Absolutely. Love Adam, but the Orioles should not extend or resign him. Go younger, go cheaper. 

Im not ready to throw the towel in on AJ, lets see what salary will be for extension.

[Ohfan67]

Just now, Redskins Rick said:

Im not ready to throw the towel in on AJ, lets see what salary will be for extension.

I am, pretty much regardless of salary in 2019. He's getting slower each year. His defense is already weak. It's only going to get worst. 

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, Ohfan67 said:

I am, pretty much regardless of salary in 2019. He's getting slower each year. His defense is already weak. It's only going to get worst. 

I guess we shall see how his 2018 season is.

[24fps]

AJ is nowhere near throwaway status by Orioles standards.  Whether or not that's an accurate reflection of his objective worth is different matter in my mind.

I predict AJ gets a three-year extension.  Perhaps as soon as this offseason especially if they want to restructure his 2018 salary.  Figure AJ makes somewhere around $55-60 million from the O's for the 2018-2021 seasons.