Atlanta Braves news: Ronald Acuña Jr., Chipper Jones, PECOTA season projections

Atlanta Braves news: Chipper Jones back as hitting consultant

As our own Mark Powell mentioned in this morning’s news roundup, Jones is returning to a position with the Atlanta coaching staff as a hitting consultant. He won’t be a full-time coach, but will work with hitters before games during homestands and could potentially travel with the team on occasion as well.

Jones served in this role during the 2021 season, but did not last year because of COVID-19 rules for all MLB coaches. However, with that rule no longer in place for 2023, Jones will once again lend his Hall of Fame knowledge to the next generation of Braves hitters.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018 with votes on 97.2 percent of the ballots, Jones played all 19 seasons for the Braves, logging a career slash line of .303/.401/.529 and an OPS+ of 141. He earned the NL MVP award in 1999 and was an eight-time All-Star.

Only two players on Atlanta’s projected Opening Day starting lineup are over 30 years old, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for Jones to impact the young players who comprise the next generation of Braves and help them try to reach the heights that he attained during his time in Atlanta.