Ten-time Gold Glove winner Jones relocates to Los Angeles

Andruw Jones is following Joe Torre to the Los Angeles Dodgers.\nThe Gold Glove center fielder and the Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday night on a $36.2 million, two-year contract that gives him the fifth-highest average salary in the major leagues.\nJones, the former Atlanta star who has won 10 straight Gold Glove Awards, is coming off one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. But if he rebounds, he could give the Dodgers a desperately needed boost in the middle of their lineup. He must pass a physical for the deal to be completed, a person familiar with the negotiations said, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.\nA five-time All-Star, Jones will receive a $12.2 million signing bonus, of which $5.1 million is payable next year, $2.1 million in 2009 and $5 million in 2010. He will receive salaries of $9 million next year and $15 million in 2009, and will also receive a no-trade clause.\nScott Boras, his agent, wouldn’t confirm the agreement but sounded as if a deal had fallen into place.\n“Being on a competitive team was a very, very important part of his process,” he said.\nJones hit .222 this season, his lowest average since he batted .217 in 106 at-bats as a rookie in 1996. His 26 home runs were his fewest since 1997. He drove in 94 runs for the Braves, but finished with a paltry .311 on-base percentage.\nHad Jones finished with big numbers, he likely would have sought a longer-term agreement. Boras said there were really only two options when it came to length.\n“Very, very long-term or very, very short term,” he said. “Nothing in between.”\nJones didn’t consider a one-year contract.\n“I wouldn’t put a player in that position, mainly because (he) just went through that,” Boras said. “That was never an option.”\nDodgers general manager Ned Colletti did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.\nJones is a .263 career hitter with 368 home runs and 1,117 RBIs. He was runner-up for the NL MVP award in 2005, when he had 51 homers and 128 RBIs. The following season he hit 41 home runs with a career-high 129 RBIs.\nHe made $13.5 million this year, the final season of a five-year contract. The Braves made no effort to re-sign him.\nJones’ $18.1 million average salary trails only those of the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez ($27.5 million), Boston’s Manny Ramirez ($20 million), the Yankees’ Derek Jeter ($18.9 million) and the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano ($18.3 million).