When Billy Beane traded for Conor Jackson this June, he was presumably hoping to see the left fielder return to his 2006-08 form. For three years, Jackson combined patience and doubles power to be a productive piece of the Diamondbacks offense, so the former top prospect clearly has the ability to handle major league pitching.
But the player Beane acquired for reliever Sam Demel did not produce. Jackson, who missed all but 30 games in 2009 with Valley Fever, posted a .228/.362/.316 line in Oakland with one homer. He's now out for the season with a sports hernia, and he only batted 69 times, but his numbers weren't noticeably different in Arizona. Jackson doesn't have much to show for 2009 or 2010, consecutive injury-plagued seasons that have turned him into a non-tender candidate.
The D'Backs raised Jackson's salary from $3.05MM to $3.1MM last offseason, but the A's may not feel comfortable paying him over $3MM in 2011, Jackson's final season as an arbitration eligible player. In fact, Jackson's injuries and poor performance suggest the A's are likely to non-tender him. Click here to vote on Oakland's choice and here to view the results.
Sounds like the type of player the Braves might take a flyer on, especially if they let Diaz go.
well then why let diaz go? same player but better.
Both guys may be due a raise if they’re tendered by their current teams. And both have injury histories. The Braves may be able to sign Jackson for less than they could Diaz and he does offer the possibility of playing some at 1B. I’m not saying Jackson would be a major upgrade, but he should be a comparable player, and if he’s a free agent he should cost less.
No, Diaz is better & does not have the injury history that Jackson has. It would be a waste of time. They might as well keep the bette player in Diaz. Plus they need Matty D to be the goalie in the Braves pick up soccer games.
With Diaz, it’s a matter of dollars and cents. The Braves will try to upgrade in LF this winter. If they can, Diaz becomes a 4th OF. Are they willing to pay him $3MM+ to fill that role? Probably not.
I was thinking that he sounds like a guy that Kenny Williams would take a flyer on. Can play 1B, would be able to move Paulie to DH, high OBP…I don’t know, just seems to fit his mentality.
Rockies are looking for a right-handed 1B to pair with Helton.
The two teams that came to mind for me are already mentioned above.
The Braves will want a right handed backup 1B to complement the left handed prospect Freeman who will be the starter next year. They also would like the flexibilty of a right handed bat who can play LF (or RF to give Heyward a blow) should the McLouth/Diaz experiment – which I think will happen in 2011 – fail.
The Rockies do need a platoon partner for Helton at 1B and Jackson does have some favorable platoon splits against LHP.
Other teams could be Pittsburg in a platoon with Jones at 1B/RF or the Red Sox who like having a nice 1B backup around (Kotchman, LaRoche, etc).
Are you suggesting a Diaz/McLouth platoon in LF? If so, who’s in CF?
Jackson is a guy with pretty good on-base skills and some pop. Would be a nice player off the bench or platoon guy. Although his defense is below average.
Jackson is one cool customer. Always rolling with the punches.
I always liked his nonchalant attitude when he was with the Dbacks….until it started showing up in his at bats.
It started to look like he didn’t care what happened. All his at bats were just kind of a giant shrug with a “meh…whatever….next time.”
Not a big loss for Oakland or AZ. There are other players out there who want to win and will not accept failure as if it’s part of the game (even though we all know it is).