The Brewers, Angels, and Rangers are among the teams that have at least some level of interest in outfielder Austin Jackson, according to a report from ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Meanwhile, he adds, the Cubs could conceivably bring Jackson back “for the right price.”
We haven’t heard much at all on the market for Jackson, who has endured a tough run of late but remains an intriguing player as he nears his 29th birthday. He’s queued up behind Dexter Fowler among center fielders, and Fowler could well be waiting to see what happens with Yoenis Cespedes before he commits to a contract.
But Jackson is a notable free agent in his own right. He entered the offseason placing 35th on the top-fifty list of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes, landing with a one-year, $12MM prediction. As Dierkes noted at the time, it has always been unclear whether Jackson would land with some kind of multi-year arrangement or instead take a one-year pillow deal in hopes of finding a bigger contract next winter.
At his best, Jackson has delivered pop and speed to go with a quality glove in center — rather a difficult mix to find. Indeed, he tallied over 15 rWAR in his first three years in the league. Things have trended downward since, as Jackson owns a cumulative .269/.319/.382 batting line since the start of 2013.
While teams probably won’t be expecting a return to his established ceiling, even the diminished Jackson looks to be a useful performer. He’s still a capable center fielder with near a league-average bat, and has traditionally performed about as well against both left-handed and right-handed pitching. And it isn’t difficult to see the reasoning behind the interest from the clubs that appear in Crasnick’s report.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained in today’s podcast (around the 21:00 mark), in fact, Jackson looks like a nice fit with Texas since he could fill in all across the outfield. Los Angeles has long been seeking a solution in left field, while the Brewers’ could certainly stand to add a solid veteran in center — potentially with the hope of flipping him at the deadline or extending a qualifying offer after the season. And Chicago obviously was interested enough to add Jackson late last year. He’d possibly add an up-the-middle option to the Cubs’ outfield mix, especially if the team were to strike a trade involving Jorge Soler.
Brewers need a cf to patch till Phillips is ready. I’m all for Jackson because, what’s the worst? An above-average fielder that could maybe be good at hitting.
Agree with you here. Though I would immediately consider flipping Jackson if he has a good/great year to see if we can get a little something in return. I’m a bit surprised we don’t see the Brewers name floating around some of these flyer-type players as possible rebound candidates that could land them a prospect or two at the deadline more often.
A Jackson signing by the Brewers could be a precursor to a Davis trade either now or at the deadline, allowing Santana to move to a more natural corner spot while getting decent value for Davis before he hits arbitration and becomes much more expensive. Plus it would open a spot for guys like Taylor or Phillips for a late season call up to get some experience.
strong logic.
from the player’s perspective he also gets near-guaranteed playing time in a starting role with MKE who has only the kid from Pittsburgh Broxton to make any sort of challenge.
He is a nice fit for the angels, better option then Gentry and Nava
I would definitely rather have a Jackson/Nava platoon rather than a Gentry/Nava platoon, which could happen since Gentry’s contract isn’t guaranteed.
Jackson would have to come cheap
I’m not sure how he’s projected to get a 1 year $12 mil contract. I would think a $5 mil AAV would be closer to what he’d get. He made $7.7 in his last year of his contract last year and was downward trending.
Maybe 1 year 10 mill with a second year option
The amount a player made previously has nothing to do with his go-forward earning capacity on the open market.
In a way it does depending on which way he is trending. It gives a bench mark to work from. It’s not a sole measure though.
I wouldn’t say “nothing” but supply and demand can certainly inflate a pricetag on a player.
But I do think that teams would weight the AAV of his past contract and the level of production during it to determine what his worth is. At least I would!
Or in Jacksons case deflate his cost….downward trending stat line in a saturated market…
My understanding is neither Gentry/Nava’s contracts are guaranteed.
I would rather have Jackson playing full time then either of them platooning.
That remains to be seen considering Nava and Gentry have both put up better production in their more productive seasons. But I would get involved in this since Nava and Gentry both had down years. Still league average production in LF alone would be a major boost considering the HÅlos had the 4th worst OPS in LF in MLB history.
Go to Texas, Jack.
I wish all the “Cubs trading Soler” talk would stop. There’s been nothing at all about it besides random rumors from people who know nothing about it. Just because it might “make sense” doesn’t mean anything.
I disagree with that. There have been several credible reports on different scenarios being discussed with different teams. I don’t take that to mean they want to just get the best price they can and move on, but it does suggest he could be in play.
No, Soler makes perfect sense to move. Heyward is a right fielder, not a center fielder, and I suspect the Cubs know it very well. They’re going to sign or trade for a CF and move Heyward over. That means Soler is gonzo.
Moving Soler would be a bad move. The Cubs need to get a handle on what he can do in a full, healthy season. Soler’s ceiling is much too high to trade him at this time. A deal for him would have to bring a very high, long lasting return.
Soler for Skaggs and Bedrosian?
It seems every fan base has a version of Bedrosian. The type of player that’s involved in every trade proposal, might have some intrigue or value but not enough to be missed if traded. That being said, Skaggs might be of interest to the Cubs but I think they are probably more interested in a more established arm, even if it means giving up a bit more.
Couldn’t agree more
I don’t think the cubs would fall for that trade
Predicting the Cubs will trade Soler but it won’t be until closer to the deadline.
sounds like a 1 yr $8mm for the mets.
I totally agree soler powered. The cubs need soler to have his big breakout year this year so people can know if he is the real deal or was over hyped. I think that he could be huge in that lineup with all the other mashers that the cubs have. They can provide protection for each other. Besides what would a return for him be? I would trade him for a Byron Buxton or a Sonny Grey but the return would have to be huge for it to be worth it. For buxton I would even give the twinkys vogelbach deweiss or a candelario to make them say yes quickly. The cubs outfield defense would be great when schwarber wasn’t in the field. I also would like to see schwarber find a permanent position if left field defense gets alot better then the team could be legendary.
No chance that Buxton is going anywhere let alone for Soler and Voglebach. Sonny Gray seems like a good target for the Cubs if they want to move Soler, but again, it might take more than just him to land an arm like Gray which makes a deal complicated. Realistically, that is probably why we don’t see many rumors about Soler. The Cubs won’t sell low on him, and there is really no need to trade him. If it really came down to it, I would bank on Soler starting to realize his upside versus Austin Jackson rebounding to be a player he once was. Soler has the higher ceiling and at a cheaper price.
English isn’t your strong suit is it?
1 year / $12mm seems like a lot for Austin Jackson.
Just a note on some recent one year guys …
Anderson 1/10
Rios 1/11
Masterson 1/9.5
Hunter 1/10.5
Morales 1/12 (prorated)
Drew 1/14.1 (prorated)
Haren 1/10
Bearing in mind his age and center field capability, I think that’s a good guess for one year.
it is.way to much
1 year 12M? If that is the case Angels better not burn money on him. he had a horrible 2015. 2M at most.
If the cubs do get Jackson doesn’t mean Sol is gone. I think the cubs are going to see how the Heyward cf goes n what Sol does up till trade deadline first. If he’s traded it be for pitching. Pending how ham n ken do. I like Fowler 1 yr 16.5 mil. Better but I’m sure he get better
If the Cubs really wanted to put a nail in the coffin in 2016. They could go to the rocks n trade for Blackmon or Cargo. They need pitching n we have plenty if it. Esp if we’re going to get one more before trade deadline. That gives major power defence obp in cf n Heyward in rf. Want add to that n shock the baseball world. Sign Ces. Imagine Ces /cargo or Blackmon n Heyward. That’s best outfield in MLB. Maybe of all time. Lol Swarb dw he can DH when we play the al n ph plus gives dept n start working on him for catching so we can dump mont. that be dream situation. Come on Tom just spend 100/120 more million n let theo do his thing w the rocks before St L does lol. I know dreaming.
Idiot
Why. It not that hard to pull off really it’s fairly easy. Just mad bro cause Cubs Det SF improved.
miachaelw is an absolute idiot. let’s why not just trade for trout and Harper while they’re at it
How am I an idiot. Really you sound more like an idiot. Just mad cause the Cubs got better. Really it’s not out if the box at all. Trading the Rox for an outfielder would be very easy for Theo if he wanted to wo giving up Soler or Swarb. U talking about Harper n Trout is stupid. simple starting pitcher n Rp n A prospect could easy get it done. Who talked about trading for Harper or Trout. Neither will ever leave their teams that is dumb. We gave dept n farm really to do anything ESP if they really wanted to neg a trade w rocks. Ces we don’t need or want. I just popped that in there. But if we wanted him we could sure land him out of nowhere. Ask the Mets when they thought Zorb was packed for NY. Or Heyward for wash or StL so please don’t talk stupid. Everyone said I was crazy when I said Upton go to Det. They won’t sign him they go over the Cap. Bet you thought LA or SF get Grez to. Bet if I said he go yo Arz I’d be an idiot to. cubs won’t sign Ces they don’t need him but if they wanted him they get him trust me. Outfielder would be easy to get from Rocks other than St L n Clev we have plenty of pitching dept if we go that way. But we’re fine. We nail a pitcher before trade deadline that he that. Done. Go to bed kid
it’s called sarcasm u female dog, donkey mothertrucker
cmancoley now who sounds like an idiot LMAO –
You must be a Nationals fan. I’m sorry lol
The Cubs are fine the way they are. This is the first time in 35 years of being a Cubs fan where the balance of youth, and older veterans is perfect. They’re deep on the bench, bullpen is good enough, and their line up is ridiculous. Heyward in center will be fine, bit he’ll have to cover Alot of ground because of Swraber and Soler. Maddon will use his bench for defense in the later innings. Very excited, especially with the youth of the core.