Detroit agrees to terms with Jones
12/08/2005
DALLAS -- In retrospect, Todd Jones thinks he never should have left the Tigers. In hindsight, the Tigers probably would've rather not had some of the nine closers that have tried the job since.
Neither can turn back the clock, but with a two-year, $11 million contract, they hope he can merely repeat last year.
"Sure, it came down to economics, but at this point in my career I have to find ways to connect," Jones said via conference call Thursday afternoon. "Detroit was an easy connection."
For the better part of five seasons, Detroit was Jones' home. Acquired from Houston in 1997 in one of the Tigers' many deals involving Brad Ausmus, Jones promptly took over as Detroit's closer. He saved 142 games in a Tigers uniform, second only to Mike Henneman on the club's all-time list. His 42 saves in 2000 stands as the franchise single-season record.
The memories still seem fresh for Jones. As he remembered Thursday, he was the last pitcher at Tiger Stadium in 1999 and earned the first save at Comerica Park in 2000. He recalled talking with fans at Nemo's Bar and Grill, hearing their stories and gaining an appreciation for Tigers history.
It was soon after setting his save record when Jones' career took as many different turns as the Tigers' closer situation did. Detroit, set to lose Jones as a free agent and hand the closer's role to Matt Anderson, dealt Jones to Minnesota for Mark Redman on July 28, 2001. He finished out the season as a setup man for the Twins, then spent time in Colorado, Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
He had mixed success at those stops, and he believes his time at Coors Field had something to do with it. He had a respectable 4.70 ERA and 30 holds with the Rockies in 2002 before his ERA ballooned to 8.24 with Colorado the next year.
"That's the first time I ever questioned my ability to get people out," Jones said. "But I proved myself and I worked through it."
He had his work cut out for him with Florida, where he came to camp last season with a Minor League invite. He was supposed to make the Marlins as a setup man, but became a closer once Guillermo Mota was injured. Pitching the ninth inning regularly for the first time since he left the Tigers, Jones posted 40 saves to go with a 2.10 ERA. He had a 1.10 ERA on Sept. 13 before giving up nine earned runs over his final seven outings.
That success and the Marlins' impending breakup added Jones to the large list of free agent closers this winter. The Tigers called around to get a feel for him and liked what they heard about what he had left in ability and character. Plus, they liked the idea of bringing in a pitcher who genuinely wanted to be in Detroit.
"He's actually been very high on our list all along," president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We had [Billy] Wagner and [B.J.] Ryan on our list, no question. But we had Todd on our list, too."
Talks "took off," Dombrowski said, last week once the top closers were off the market. Jones, in turn, had something in mind about the Tigers among the eight teams that had expressed interest. There was sentimentality about it, but he had to see the Tigers step up in talks.
"It came down to the Tigers were willing to do a second year on the contract," Jones admitted.
The Tigers hope Jones can step into the role that had been held by Percival, not just as a closer but as a leader. He stands at the back end of a bullpen that leans young with Fernando Rodney, Franklyn German, Chris Spurling and possibly Roman Colon and Wilfredo Ledezma working the middle innings. Lefty specialist Jamie Walker is the only incumbent reliever over 30.
Jones' arrival moves Rodney back to setup duty as part of what manager Jim Leyland said will be a seven-man bullpen.
Like Percival last year, Jones is not the same type of pitcher he was in his younger days, certainly not like his last Detroit stop. But the Tigers like his ability to mix pitches and his stinginess with walks over the last two years. His .206 average allowed to the first batter faced each outing ranked fifth-lowest among NL relievers last year.
"He's a proven, quality Major League player and a proven, quality Major League person," Leyland said. "That's what we're trying to do here. And I know we've done that in this case."
Source: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/
DALLAS -- In retrospect, Todd Jones thinks he never should have left the Tigers. In hindsight, the Tigers probably would've rather not had some of the nine closers that have tried the job since.
Neither can turn back the clock, but with a two-year, $11 million contract, they hope he can merely repeat last year.
"Sure, it came down to economics, but at this point in my career I have to find ways to connect," Jones said via conference call Thursday afternoon. "Detroit was an easy connection."
For the better part of five seasons, Detroit was Jones' home. Acquired from Houston in 1997 in one of the Tigers' many deals involving Brad Ausmus, Jones promptly took over as Detroit's closer. He saved 142 games in a Tigers uniform, second only to Mike Henneman on the club's all-time list. His 42 saves in 2000 stands as the franchise single-season record.
The memories still seem fresh for Jones. As he remembered Thursday, he was the last pitcher at Tiger Stadium in 1999 and earned the first save at Comerica Park in 2000. He recalled talking with fans at Nemo's Bar and Grill, hearing their stories and gaining an appreciation for Tigers history.
It was soon after setting his save record when Jones' career took as many different turns as the Tigers' closer situation did. Detroit, set to lose Jones as a free agent and hand the closer's role to Matt Anderson, dealt Jones to Minnesota for Mark Redman on July 28, 2001. He finished out the season as a setup man for the Twins, then spent time in Colorado, Boston, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
He had mixed success at those stops, and he believes his time at Coors Field had something to do with it. He had a respectable 4.70 ERA and 30 holds with the Rockies in 2002 before his ERA ballooned to 8.24 with Colorado the next year.
"That's the first time I ever questioned my ability to get people out," Jones said. "But I proved myself and I worked through it."
He had his work cut out for him with Florida, where he came to camp last season with a Minor League invite. He was supposed to make the Marlins as a setup man, but became a closer once Guillermo Mota was injured. Pitching the ninth inning regularly for the first time since he left the Tigers, Jones posted 40 saves to go with a 2.10 ERA. He had a 1.10 ERA on Sept. 13 before giving up nine earned runs over his final seven outings.
That success and the Marlins' impending breakup added Jones to the large list of free agent closers this winter. The Tigers called around to get a feel for him and liked what they heard about what he had left in ability and character. Plus, they liked the idea of bringing in a pitcher who genuinely wanted to be in Detroit.
"He's actually been very high on our list all along," president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We had [Billy] Wagner and [B.J.] Ryan on our list, no question. But we had Todd on our list, too."
Talks "took off," Dombrowski said, last week once the top closers were off the market. Jones, in turn, had something in mind about the Tigers among the eight teams that had expressed interest. There was sentimentality about it, but he had to see the Tigers step up in talks.
"It came down to the Tigers were willing to do a second year on the contract," Jones admitted.
The Tigers hope Jones can step into the role that had been held by Percival, not just as a closer but as a leader. He stands at the back end of a bullpen that leans young with Fernando Rodney, Franklyn German, Chris Spurling and possibly Roman Colon and Wilfredo Ledezma working the middle innings. Lefty specialist Jamie Walker is the only incumbent reliever over 30.
Jones' arrival moves Rodney back to setup duty as part of what manager Jim Leyland said will be a seven-man bullpen.
Like Percival last year, Jones is not the same type of pitcher he was in his younger days, certainly not like his last Detroit stop. But the Tigers like his ability to mix pitches and his stinginess with walks over the last two years. His .206 average allowed to the first batter faced each outing ranked fifth-lowest among NL relievers last year.
"He's a proven, quality Major League player and a proven, quality Major League person," Leyland said. "That's what we're trying to do here. And I know we've done that in this case."
Source: http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/
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