Santo Domingo.– Andruw Jones’ search for solid contact has landed him in the heartland of a baseball-crazed country that isn’t his own, accumulating at-bats in the dead of winter. The skills that made Jones a five-time All-Star seemed to vanish upon putting on a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform after he signed a two-year, $36.2 million contract before the 2008 season.

He was helpless at the plate, batting .158 with three home runs and 28 RBIs in 209 at-bats, a far cry from his career averages of 33 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .260 average.

If Jones returns to the Dodgers with answers, they will have been found playing for the Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Winter League. Aguilas veteran Rafael Furcal, a longtime teammate of Jones’ with the Atlanta Braves and the Dodgers, got him the gig. “I need at-bats,” Jones said. “I am used to getting my 500-600-plus plate appearances, so as the 2008 season progressed, I realized that I was going to put everything aside and explore the possibility of playing winter ball.”

Jones said he also plans to play in the World Baseball Classic. He was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Curacao, part of the Netherlands Antilles, making him eligible for the Netherlands’ WBC team.