Biggest Free Agency Mistake in Dodgers History

When people think of Andruw Jones, they'll likely think of his 12 years on the Atlanta Braves before anything else. Many people forget about his disappointing, one-year stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, which was, well, supposed to be two years before fate intervened.

Adding the Braves legend was the worst mistake the Dodgers have ever made in free agency.

Jones was coming off 12 fantastic years in Atlanta when he hit the free agent market after the 2007 season. The Dodgers pounced on the opportunity to sign him at the age of 31, only one single season removed from a 41-homer, 129-RBI campaign, and gave him a two-year, $36.2 million deal starting in 2008.

Jones was immediately disappointing. He showed up to Spring Training overweight and underwent knee surgery that May. In his 75 games, he hit .158 with three home runs and 14 RBI. He was booed by fans and he watched from the bench as the team lost in the NLCS that season. After the season ended, he was asked to be traded, but the Dodgers couldn't find any takers. They ended up releasing him in January 2009.

He only played four more years after with the Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees. He didn't hit above .247 in any of those seasons, and hit .197 in 94 games with the Yankees in 2012 before he retired.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Jones' success in Atlanta couldn't be translated over to Los Angeles. However, with an outfield that has Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger at Dodger Stadium in 2020, Dodgers fans aren't losing any sleep over it today.