At one point in the not-too-distant past he was a star, Andruw Jones now joins the Chicago White Sox bench for the 2010 season. On this 2009 Thanksgiving day, let’s look at what he may be bringing to the South-side…

In all likelihood, Jones will work his way into a larger role with his new club in the upcoming season. Yet at this point, he’s looking to assume the 4th outfielder role and is being fit as a part-time designated hitter. On the bench, he will basically be replacing DeWayne Wise, which to anyone’s eyes looks to be an obvious upgrade.

His story is quite the odd one. Andruw was, by most accounts, a superstar with Atlanta. He started in center field consistently for the Braves from 1998 until 2005. Not only was he a major power threat (he hit 51 home runs with a .575 Slugging Percentage in 2005), but he was arguably the best defensive outfielder during his tenure in Atlanta. By all defensive metrics and statistics, Jones was in a league of his own.

The odd part of his tale comes at age 30, when he just absolutely falls off the face of the Earth offensively. In 2007 he saw his batting average drop to .222 and his OPS (his on-base percentage plus his slugging percentage) glide down to a sub-par .724. Things continued to get worse for Andruw in 2008 with the Dodgers, when he wound up hitting a pathetic .158 in his 200 or so at-bats with the team.

He saw a slight renaissance to his offensive game when he joined the Rangers in 2009.  In roughly a half-season’s worth of at-bats, he hit 17 home runs with a respectable .782 OPS.  Jones looks like he can flourish in his newly-found role coming off the bench. Not only can he play all 3 outfield positions at a league-average or better level, but he can even handle first base in a pinch.

At only 32-years-old, it seems the former great player knows what his new role will be. The Sox have very little risk in this deal, only signing Jones to a 1-year, $500,000 deal. With the departure of outfielder Jermaine Dye and the injury problems of Carlos Quentin, sooner rather than later the Sox may need Jones to regain his power-stroke from yesteryear in a more prominent role.

He’s still a better option than DeWayne Wise. A much better option.