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On Baseball | READY TO RUMBLE

Atlanta's Andruw Jones is playing at 223 pounds, down about 20 from last year. He says he dieted over the winter and ran more than usual.

Atlanta's

Andruw Jones

is playing at 223 pounds, down about 20 from last year. He says he dieted over the winter and ran more than usual.

It's no surprise that Jones, who turned 30 last month, came into this season in better shape. He will be a free agent at the end of the season. He is also represented by Scott Boras, and no agent does a better job preparing his clients for salary-drive seasons. Boras employs conditioning consultants for his guys.

Jones hopes to return to Atlanta, but there's no way Boras doesn't take this guy onto the open market. Jones had a combined 92 homers and 257 RBIs in 2005 and 2006, and he had five homers and 20 RBIs in his first 27 games this season. He's going to be a very expensive free agent, maybe too rich for the Braves, whose payroll is under $85 million.

"What happens in the off-season isn't on my mind," Jones said. "My focus right now is on getting Atlanta back to winning the division again."