Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones Is Making A Very Smart Move

Former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones is reportedly heading to play in Japan.

From his pie celebrations to his infectious smile and personality, Adam Jones will forever be a beloved figure in the history of the Baltimore Orioles franchise. His move to Arizona to spend the 2019 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks was an unpopular move among fans, but understandable considering the Orioles were nose-diving into a full-blown teardown and rebuild under new general manager Mike Elias.

It now appears that Jones will be closing out his career in Japan with the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB. Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, a multi-year deal is in the works.

When I initially saw the rumors, it took me by quite the surprise, but this move isn’t all that surprising. After sitting on the free agent market for much of the offseason last year, Jones is taking matters into his own hands and securing one final big contract before hanging up his cleats for good.

Jones earned a one-year deal with Arizona just weeks before the start of the regular season, worth a grand total of $3 million. After a hot start at the plate Jones, cooled off and finished the season with a .260/.313/.414 slash with 16 home runs and a wRC+ of 87. It was the lowest wRC+ of his career, other than his rookie year total of 84.

Not only was his .260 batting average the lowest mark of his career in the big leagues, but Jones was also worth -0.1 Wins Above Replacement in 2019, according to Fangraphs. It was the first time he provided negative value on the field. His WAR value has steadily declined since peaking at 4.9 fWAR in 2013 with the Orioles. Since that 2013 season, Jones has seen his fWAR value drop significantly each season.

If Jones were to stick around stateside and attempt to play in the majors again in 2020, he would likely sit around on the market, once again, and be forced to accept a minor league or league-minimum deal. Making the move to Japan, on a reported multi-year deal, could bring a few extra million dollars and an opportunity to be not only the star of his new team, but one of the biggest stars in Japan.

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That Adam Jones personality is hard not to love. Hopefully, an awesome food vlog comes along with his move to Japan.

If this is the end of Jones and his time in Major League Baseball, the 34-year-old outfielder ends his MLB career with 282 home runs, 1,939 total hits, a Silver Slugger Award, five All-Star appearances, and four Gold Glove Awards. Unfortunately, that means we won’t’ get to witness his milestone 300th home run, 2,000th hit, or the chance he one day earns himself a World Series ring.

However, we wish all the best to Adam Jones and am glad to see him take advantage of this opportunity. I think it’s safe to say that the Orix Buffaloes will have quite the following on the east coast of the United States.

Update: Adam Jones to Japan is official as of Tuesday night. 

In case you missed it, the Baltimore Orioles themselves made some news on the first full day of the Winter Meetings. While they missed out on Stephen Strasburg, they did claim RHP Marcos Diplan off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. You can check out the full story by clicking the link right above.