ATLANTA -- Andruw Jones' rapid descent from stardom has brought him back to his unexpected but current position of preparing for reentry into the free-agent market.

But contrary to some assumptions, this development hasn't necessarily put him in position to rejoin the Braves.

While Jones would obviously welcome the opportunity to once again play in his adopted hometown of Atlanta, there are plenty of reasons why the Braves appear reluctant to grant this wish, even if they would only have to provide him the Major League minimum salary of $400,000.

If the Braves were to extend Jones a Major League contract, they would be forced to remove a player from a 40-man roster that is at its max now that Derek Lowe has signed his contract. Left-handed reliever Francisley Bueno has already cleared waivers to make room for Lowe, who will be officially introduced as a Brave on Friday morning.

While the sum of $400,000 might seem like a bargain for a 10-time Gold Glove winner, the total cost, which includes the possibility of losing the player who is removed from the 40-man roster, appears to be one Atlanta isn't willing to spend on Jones.

This doesn't rule out the possibility that Jones could find himself back in the Braves organization. But all indications are that he would have to sign a Minor League contract to afford himself this opportunity to be reacquainted with the club that developed and employed him from 1993-2007.

While some Braves have said they hope general manager Frank Wren takes a chance on Jones, others wonder whether the veteran outfielder could even make the team out of Spring Training.

Jones has told friends that he believes the Reds and Mets could make a push to acquire him. Both of these teams reportedly talked to the Dodgers about acquiring him via trade earlier this offseason.

Considering that Jones is just three seasons removed from a 51-homer campaign, which earned him a second-place finish in balloting for the National League MVP Award, it might seem hard to believe that the Braves don't seem to be willing to provide more than a Minor League contract for a player who was long considered a fan favorite in Atlanta.

But harder to understand is the drastic drop in production that Jones has experienced over the past three seasons. During this span, he's gone from being a player many felt was destined for Hall of Fame induction to being just one of the many who are currently looking for a job with Spring Training just a month away.

At the end of the 2006 season, when Jones had just earned his ninth consecutive Gold Glove at the age of 29, his career statistics included a .267 batting average, 342 homers and a .505 slugging percentage.

Given that he'd just compiled 92 homers over the previous two seasons, the 500-homer milestone appeared to be a lock and the 600-homer milestone appeared to be a definite possibility. But the production that generated those projections seemingly evaporated within the blink of an eye.

With his admirable desire to play through the inevitable aches and pains, Jones started more games than any other Major Leaguer during a 10-season span (1998-2007). Just six players started as many as 1,500 games during this period, and Alex Rodriguez was the only one who came within 34 starts of Jones' total (1,564).

This doesn't even account for the 53 starts Jones made in the postseason games played during this stretch.

The physical consequences that come from playing center field on this everyday basis led some to wonder if a "buyer beware" tag should be placed on Jones as he entered the free-agent market at the conclusion of the 2007 season. This thought irked agent Scott Boras and was ignored by the Dodgers, who presented Jones a two-year, $36.2 million contract.

Because Jones ended up hitting just .158 with three homers and a .249 slugging percentage in 75 games for the Dodgers, the contract will long be considered one of the worst in the history of professional sports. It's also one that was altered to bring this short relationship to an abrupt halt.

While granting Jones' desire to be traded or released by Thursday, the Dodgers were compensated with the ability to defer a majority of his $21.1 million salary over the next six seasons. They will pay the veteran outfielder approximately $5 million this year.

Jones' supporters will claim that last year's struggles were a product of excess weight, some of which he's recently erased, and his bothersome right knee, which was surgically repaired in late May.

His critics argue that his troubles began long before his forgettable Los Angeles experience. In a 248-game stretch from the beginning of the 2005 season through the first half of the '06 season, Jones hit .266 with 71 homers, a .548 slugging percentage and an .895 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).

But in the 222-game stretch that followed through the end of the 2007 season, Jones hit just .230 with 47 homers, a .460 slugging percentage and a .793 OPS.

Given that Jones will be just 32 years old in April, there's certainly reason to wonder if he has something left in his tank. But at the same time, the prolonged struggles that he's experienced over the past three seasons provide reason why the Braves appear reluctant to bring him back to their organization.