The news this winter is so slow, people post that Adam Jones trade rumors are intensifying. Jones, as the Orioles are finding out, is a tough player to trade. He’s a young centerfielder who doesn’t play the position well. His strength as a hitter comes from his batting average and power, but he comes at a high cost in outs as his OBP is less than outstanding. If he produced the same WAR with a high OBP and great defense, I’d be more interested in him long term, and those qualities mesh better with the position. With two years left in arbitration, he’s going to cost a team about $10 million dollars over the years of control.

He’s not a bad player, but he’s not the kind a team would build around or trust long term. The perfect team to acquire him would be one that is an outfielder short of contention, one that could really use a 3.0 WAR to put them over the top. If I were a GM, however, I would not give up top prospects for Adam unless I was desperate.