Former All-Star Andruw Jones gets $500,000 from White Sox

A former all-star slugger and top player in the league, Andruw Jones has accepted a one-year $500,000 deal from the Chicago White Sox.

Andruw Jones was called a future Hall of Famer during his 11 years with the Atlanta Braves as he won ten Gold Glove awards and also hit 30 home runs in seven seasons. He even hit 51 homers in one of those seasons. Years later, Jones entered the Los Angeles Dodgers' training camp overweight, hit .158 and then was sent to the releasd but, nevertheless, was given a hefty two-year deal worth $36.2 million. The Dodgers dropped him after a dismal season but the Texas Rangers picked him up and signed Jones to a minor league contract. He hit .222 in 82 games with 17 home runs with the Rangers. Another team will experiment with the five-time All-Star as the Chicago White Sox signed him to a one-year on Wednesday deal worth $500,000 with a chance to earn $1 million if he performs well, according to the Associated Press. Jones has a career batting average of .257 with 388 home runs and 1,174 RBIs. The White Sox have had a busy offseason so far by adding Mark Kotsay and Omar Vizquel to their bench. General Manager Kenny Williams said, “This is an opportunity to add a power bat to the roster while improving our outfield depth. With the addition of Andruw Jones, Mark Kotsay and Omar Vizquel(notes), we feel our bench is taking shape to be a strong asset heading into the 2010 season.” ESPN notes that the White Sox tried to sign Jones five years ago but, luckily, gave up short.