July 4th White Sox Discussion Question: Time for Andruw Jones to Go?

Not that this is news to anyone who watches the White Sox - or has followed baseball for the last four years - but Andruw Jones is currently not very good at major league baseball. As Sox Machine points out today, he’s 18-for-117 since April 27, including 3 hits in his last 44 at-bats. About his only value right now is that he can still play the outfield okay and maybe steal a base. Otherwise, his swing from the heels approach is providing the same weak offensive returns it has for the last four seasons. Even allowing for the observational error rate, his 9.5% line drive rate is absolutely comical. Some will argue his hitting woes are due to lack of playing time. The obvious retort to that is look at how he's hit the last half decade.

Jim suggests that Dayan Viciedo gets Jones' at-bats and, if an outfielder is needed, Mark Kotsay gets those starts. I'm on board with the former but the latter sounds dubious to me. In any event, I think Alejandro De Aza should get a shot - and not just for the slam-dunk this provides Nancy Faust. While Ale-ale-jandro doesn't provide much power, he's got decent plate discipline and good speed. And for those cringing at images of Juan Pierre or Mark Kotsay patrolling center in Jones' absence, De Aza can handle the position.