Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Marlins are close to signing first baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Jones, who was let go by the Pirates last week.

Jones lost his job to Justin Morneau down the stretch and the Pirates didn’t want to pay him around $5 million via arbitration. Why the Marlins want him is sort of unclear, because Jones is a mediocre 33-year-old coming off a career-worst season in which he hit just .233 with 15 homers and a .708 OPS in 144 games.

Signing him would clear the path for Miami to trade Logan Morrison and perhaps that deal could bring back some long-term help in the form of young talent, but a Morrison-for-Jones switch isn’t likely to help the lineup any in the short term.

UPDATE: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that Jones is getting a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

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