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The Dodgers land outfielder Andruw Jones with a two year/$36.2 million contract. This represents the fifth highest average salary in Major League Baseball history. Jones brings with him ten consecutive Gold Gloves, an .839 career OPS, along with 368 home runs over twelve years. In 2007, Jones batted .222/.311/.413 for a .724 OPS, measurably below the league average and a considerable falloff from his 2006 numbers. His finest season came in 2005, when he OPSed .922 and finished second in the league in MVP voting – so his stats demonstrate three consecutive declining seasons.

With Jones, the Dodgers acquire the “big-bat-in-the-middle-of-the-lineup” – at least by reputation — they’ve been coveting for two-plus seasons. The move leaves the Dodgers with four outfielders – Jones, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Juan Pierre. The Dodgers have been the subject of numerous trade rumors in recent days, and this could signal a willingness by Ned Colletti to include Kemp or Ethier in a deal for a front-line starting pitcher (a Juan Pierre trade is merely wishful thinking).

Is the Jones signing a good move for the Dodgers?

Well, that depends on where Jones’ 650 plate appearances will come from. If the Dodgers resign themselves to the fact that Pierre was a colossal mistake and decide that, going forward, their best lineup has him as a fourth outfielder, then Jones is a major upgrade. But if the Dodgers plan on trading Kemp and handing his PAs to Jones, there’s no evidence to suggest that the production from the outfield will be any better than last season. A comparison of the four outfielders’ past three seasons, which includes Jones’ boffo 2005 season (Of course, the totals for Kemp and Ethier are over two years).

It should also be noted that Kemp is 23, Ethier 25, and Jones 30. Of course, Jones is a defensive gem, and is a huge upgrade over whomever he replaces in the outfield – and certainly over Pierre in centerfield. But, again, Jones doesn’t represent any appreciable improvement over Kemp, or even Ethier, both of whose trajectories figure to rise (though Ethier’s 2007 season fell a little short of his 2006 campaign), while it’s doubtful that Jones will reach the heights of his 2005 totals.

Credit Colletti for securing a short-term deal and not hampering the Dodgers with a 33-year-old’s $15M+ salary in 2010. Nevertheless, it’s a mistake to conclude that a Dodger outfield composed of Jones in lieu of Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier will give them more offense.

Kevin Arnovitz spends far too much time at professional sporting events in Los Angeles. He’s written about sports for Slate, The New Republic and National Public Radio, and authors Clipperblog. In civilian life, he works as the Commentary Editor at Marketplace, heard on your local NPR affiliate.

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