By: TJ Hartnett

GeorgiaSportsEdition.com news services

The available options to fill the Braves’ need in the outfield are starting to shrink.

The Houston Astros inked Michael Brantley to a deal last week, taking a player that had been linked to Atlanta off the table.

There are four remaining outfielders that the Braves could seek to reasonably replace Nick Markakis in 2019: Bryce Harper, AJ Pollock, Adam Jones, and Markakis himself.

Assuming that Harper won’t be joining the home team at Suntrust Park (and you should be assuming that), that leaves three. Pollock is an interesting option, though he’s also a bad combination of being oft-injured but talented enough to be expensive. Let’s set him aside for now.

That leaves two long-time Orioles and former teammates in Markakis and Jones. Braves fans have spent the last four years seeing and appreciated what Markakis has done both on the field and in the clubhouse. He’s a known quality and a perfectly fine option if the length of contract is agreeable.

Let’s take a look at the unknown for a moment and advocate for Adam Jones joining Atlanta.

The first thing that jumps out about Jones is the seeming notion that he will cost less than the last two free agent outfielders to sign (Brantley and Andrew McCutchen), both of whom will be making roughly $16 million per year over the course of their respective contracts.

What’s fascinating about that is how quickly the world seems to have written off Adam Jones after one down season.

At 33, Jones is on the down slope of his career, but retirement is still very far off. He’s not as quick as he once was when he was winning his four Gold Gloves, but the Braves don’t need him to play center field.

Jones would slide into a corner spot while Ender Inciarte patrols center and Ronald Acuna, Jr. backs him up. He could roam left or right field with at least the kind of skill that Markakis did for nearly half a decade.

Offensively, the criticism of having a “down year” for Jones is mostly levied at his power numbers. After seven straight seasons of 25 or more home runs (and nine straight of 19+), Jones knocked out only 15 round trippers in 2018.

However, it doesn’t seem to have been a sign of his overall season at the dish, as his batting average was .281, which is above his career average and his on-base percentage was only five points lower than his career OBP.

Interestingly, while he did not play substantially fewer games than normal at 145, he struck out fewer than 100 times for the first time since 2009.

Additionally, he would replace Markakis as the veteran leader in a young clubhouse (albeit with some assistance now from Josh Donaldson and Brian McCann). He’s a different flavor of personality that the ever-reserved Markakis, but he has the same track record of consistency, which was Kake’s calling card.

It all boils down to what I find to be a rather puzzling circumstance: Adam Jones might cost around $10 million annually for a two-to-three-year contract, despite his consistent health and production and his positive reputation in the clubhouse.

I enjoyed and admired Markakis over the past four years, but I am somewhat baffled at the notion that he may command more annual money than Adam Jones, who frankly has been a better and more dynamic plater over the course of his career.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I would also point out that signing Jones for $8-10 million for two years also gives the Braves breathing room to pursue the free agent relief pitching that they so desperately crave.

Is he the best free agent outfielder on the market? He isn’t. But he does make some sense. So, for your consideration: Adam Jones.