April 7: Jackson passed his physical, and the Orioles have now announced the deal.
April 5: The Orioles have agreed to a minor-league deal with veteran righty Edwin Jackson, according to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The agreement is still pending a physical.
It is anticipated that Jackson will head to the upper minors after a stint in extended Spring Training. He figures to take up a spot in the O’s rotation and/or relief depth charts. If Jackson does reach the majors and hits all his incentives, he could earn as much as $2.45MM, per Encina, who adds that there’s a June 1st opt-out date.
Once a solid starter, the 33-year-old Jackson has not found much success since he joined the Cubs as a free agent before the 2013 season. Since that time, he has recorded a 5.33 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 455 2/3 innings. He also showed a decline in his average fastball velocity last year, falling to 91.7 mph after typically sitting in the 93 mph range in recent years.
Edwin Jackson has the distinction of being both the most underrated and the most overrated player in history.
This. I personally think it all started with Detroit, he was underrated before they got him, then he made the All Star team and the Tigers unloaded him for a haul to the Diamondbacks. Then he became overrated, the no hitter feeding that hype, then he just bottomed out and became a journeyman and a swingman.
Being generally awful for the Cubs didn’t help.
Edwin pitched well with the White Sox, too.
This will be his 12th team if he makes an appearance with the O’s. He still has a chance to break Dotel’s record.
I feel like a lot of pitchers flame out after no-hitters. Maybe I’m just imagining it.
It’s because no hitters are flukey. So a lot of back of rotation guys have thrown them. That puts their name in the head of your average fan and they’ll always be known for throwing a no hitter. But most back of rotation arms cannot sustain a career. Everyone in the majors has the ability to be an ace for 1 game, that’s why they’re there. But to be remembered as something other than “a guy who threw a no hitter” you have to be consistently good over a long stretch.
One of the best responses I’ve read in quite awhile
wow, still only 33. A long day’s journey into night.
This is the list of SP’s that MLBTR says are available. I would have taken about 4 or 5 over Jackson just based on hoping they could find some semblance of their former selves.
Henderson Alvarez (27)
John Danks (32)
Doug Fister (33)
Matt Harrison (30)
Colby Lewis (37)
Tim Lincecum (33)
Jarrod Parker (28)
Jake Peavy (36)
Mike Pelfrey (33)
Alfredo Simon (36)
Ryan Vogelsong (39)
Jerome Williams (35)
I believe Pelfrey is on a minor league deal with the White Sox
Os got big contracts
Needed to find some cheap inning eaters
In pointing out the SPs you would have signed before Jackson assumes the O’s use him as a starter. Perhaps the O’s have talked to him about becoming a reliever as it would be likely to give him a better shot at getting back to the Majors? If none of the 30 MLB teams brought him in during Spring Training to workout as a starter, maybe Jackson has seen the writing on the wall and will change roles.
Could be the case for sure. My thought process is based on the O’s always present and glaring hole that is SP depth. I’ll be keeping watch on Lee, Ynoa, and Archer though down here in Norfolk this season. Hopefully those guys can develop into decent options. Lee especially, there’s something about that kid I like.
I think the Edwin Jackson signing is one of the few horrid missteps of the Theo Epstein led Cubs administration. Maybe they bought into Scott Boras stupid binder too much. “Edwin Jackson has the lowest ERA on alternate Tuesday’s since Cy Young and the highest pitcher WAR during a full moon since Walter Johnson, Blah, Blah, Blah…..”
hey it worked for stephen drew
I think there were signs even before and during the No Hitter that he was falling off a cliff with regards to his stuff. Don’t forget he walked 8 guys and threw 149 pitches in that game. Jackson never really was Mr. Economical with his pitch counts.
The Immortal One Edwin Jackson
I clearly remember his debut game in the majors at Dodger Stadium, age 19, with his parents watching in the stands. He put on quite a show. The talk then was of him being the next Doc Gooden. That didn’t happen but nearly 15 years later he’s still hanging on. He is a survivor.
I actually give him (Edwin) credit .. yes, he has never developed into the career everyone thought, but all of us would take his (baseball) career and contracts in a heartbeat
From everything that has been said/written about him, there is nothing but superlatives about him as a teammate and a person
3 starters. Tillman gone until early May. Miley just coming back now. Other than possiby Ynoa, there are really no starting pitching prospects ready on the farm. The Os need an inning eater at the back of the rotation. Jackson may be putting up a mid 5 ERA, but he will at least be keeping that inning load off prospects that should be in the minors.
He’s the Milton Bradley of pitchers. And the worst part is he has a no hitter under his belt. After he fell off the wagon harder than josh Hamilton or the dude from the pirates
If nothing else Jackson can serve to actually make the O’s grateful to have Ubaldo Jimenez
At least the Cubs aren’t paying him anymore.