Boardwalk Empire - 2049.14 - Cinema Jones Lost for Year

[Joshua Biddle]

Cinema Jones Lost for Season with Injury

The Atlantic City Gamblers have been very fortunate over the past few seasons in terms of injuries; however, that streak of good fortune came to a disturbing end as star left fielder Cinema Jones sustained a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his knee that will sideline him for the remainder of the 2049 season.

Jones, 26, was in the midst of yet another excellent campaign, hitting .322/.374/.538 with 41 runs scored, 23 doubles, 6 triples, 10 home runs, 35 RBIs, 30 stolen bases in 39 attempts (.769 success rate), and a 3.6 WAR in 331 plate appearances (75 games / 73 starts). Drafted with the 5th pick of the 1st round of the 2041 BBA Amateur Draft, Jones is in the second year of a three year, $19.1 million contract extension signed in April 2047; the contract pays $6.8 million this season and $7.5 million next year in the final year of his contract. Reportedly, the Gamblers had approached Jones about a long-term extension, but Jones preferred to wait until the final year of his contract to broach the subject. It's unclear on whether the injury will have long-term ramifications on a potential extension with Atlantic City or his performance.

Jones left the facility on crutches without comment, clearly disappointed with the events that transpired in the Gamblers' 10-0 loss to the Charlotte Cougars. In the top of the third inning, Jones hit a scorching line drive to right field, and as he sprinted towards second, went down right near the bag after his knee apparently gave out. He was able to crawl to second as it was in close vicinity, but Jones was clearly in pain as trainers rushed out to him. Teammates and trainers helped him off the field and the team was clearly deflated and distracted for the duration of the uncompetitive loss.

On the injury, manager Fernando Blanco said, "it's a terrible blow for our team to lose a player of Cinema's caliber. We have depth with Pedro [Trejo] and Raúl [De La Cruz], so they'll need to step up in his place. They were assets for us with Triple-A Brooklyn, so now is the time for them to show us that they can deliver the results we need at this level."

Thus far in his Gamblers' career, Jones is hitting .288/.350/.494 with 471 runs scored, 199 doubles, 28 triples, 118 home runs, 312 RBIs, 172 stolen bases in 247 attempts (.696 success rate), and an 18.5 WAR in 3,267 plate appearances (745 games). He is expected to be ready to start ramping up workouts in November and should be cleared for spring training.