After a professional career that spanned 17 years, veteran right-hander Jay Jackson is hanging up his glove. Robert Murray of FanSided reported this afternoon that Jackson is retiring from his playing career, adding that the 37-year-old hopes to have a second act in baseball, whether that comes by working for a team or in broadcasting.
Jackson was selected by the Cubs in the ninth-round of the 2008 MLB draft and made his pro debut later the summer at 20 years old. A fringe top-100 prospect entering the 2010 season after he pitched to a 2.98 ERA in 24 starts across three levels of the Chicago farm system, Jackson spent the next three seasons struggling at the Triple-A level without breaking into the majors. He was eventually released by the Cubs in early 2013 and bounced between the Marlins, Pirates, and Brewers before eventually landing with the Padres prior to the 2015 season. In San Diego, the right-hander moved to a full-time bullpen role and dominated the Double- and Triple-A levels, earning the opportunity to pitch in the majors for the first time in his career.
Jackson’s first big league cup of coffee did not go especially well, as he surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings across six appearances. Even so, the opportunity was enough to get the righty noticed by the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He pitched for the Carp for three seasons, from 2016 to 2018, and put together an impressive resume with a sterling 2.11 ERA and a 26.9% strikeout rate in 175 NPB innings. That work earned him his second big league opportunity, as he returned to the Brewers organization and pitched to a 4.45 ERA across 30 1/3 innings of work in 2019, but it was only after a second sojourn to Japan (this time as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines) in 2020 that Jackson was able to stick in the majors.
After signing with the Giants in 2021 for his age-33 season, Jackson enjoyed a late-career stretch of success in the majors. Though he pitched just 52 2/3 innings at the big league level for San Francisco, Atlanta, and Toronto from 2021 to 2023, Jackson posted an excellent 2.73 ERA across those 50 appearances and struck out 26.5% of his opponents. That was enough to earn Jackson a look from the Twins last year in his age-36 season, though he struggled badly with a 7.52 ERA across 20 appearances before being released by Minnesota last year. Jackson initially signed with the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon earlier this month in an effort to continue his playing career, but evidently has now decided to wrap up his days as a player instead.
Overall, Jackson pitched to a lifetime 4.43 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.47 FIP across 113 2/3 major league innings, with a 7-4 record and 136 strikeouts in 104 career games. That’s in addition to his excellent years in Japan, where he posted a 2.16 ERA and struck out 204 batters in 183 NPB innings. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Jackson on his nearly two decades of work in baseball and wish him all the best in whatever comes next.
Congrats on your career.
It’s not often that I have to look up someone that had a 17 year career, but I had never heard of this guy. After looking him up, I know why. Long career, but not only a handful on MLB as a middle/mop up reliever. But he can still tell his grandkids that he was a big leaguer. And unlike when I do it, he won’t be lying.
Who?????
The guy who will always be much better at baseball than you will ever be.
lol
Ive never understood why people get offended by these comments.
I’ve never understood why people feel the need to say they’ve never heard of a guy. It’s kind of belittling to the player, suggesting he was a nobody.
_balderdash_ tell your mom I’m swinging by later
So?
Mlbtr does this new thing where they link the players bbref page. It’s really neat and prevents the need for you to let us know you dont know who this person is.
Lol Chuck is much butthurtz
He was the only player in MLB history to be traded for a player to be named later who ended up being the player to be named later.
Who Cares?????
Pretty cool life to live, all things considered. You get to play ball all over the world and at different levels and retire with maybe a little safety net for whatever is next in life. He has over one year of MLB service time as well so he gets a cool $27,500 a year in pension benefits (which can go up as the pension plan increases in the future). Congrats.
Some day when Goldschmidt and Arenado enter the HoF he can say “see those guys? 0-8 with 4 K against me.”
Cool indeed.
2 years and 28 days MLB service time.
Jay got the 1.5mil guarantee with the Twins last season which is a nice nestegg to head into retirement with. I liked him with the Giants. He had a live fastball which he obviously parlayed into a nice career in Japan and MLB in his mid 30’s. Beats a 9 to 5 job. Congrats Jay!
A Paladin.
He was very good for the Jays a couple years ago. He was a victim to the revolving DFA door despite good numbers. Tada Mr. Jackson and huzzah to a nice career!
One of the nicest guys to ever put on a uniform. Congrats to him and his family
Love these stories and wish I had even a fraction of the talent. Got paid to play baseball for 17 years and by all accounts, did it the right way. We could all learn a thing or two about people like Jay who worked hard, fave it their best, and left nothing in the tank. Kudos, sir.
“Played for 17 years” and “drafted in 2008” is insane to me
Math is hard..
You’re not bright, are you
Jay’s career is a perfect example of what all of us would do if we had the fortitude: get paid for playing baseball regardless of the changes, the doubts, and the uncertainty. Congrats on the career, the pension, and the experience.
Baseball efficiency often favors volatility over reliability, even when long-term success stories like Jackson show the true value of consistency. His career proves that being a safe bet is sometimes a liability in an era obsessed with ceilings over floors.
I heard that you were more interested in his father.
DEI article.
Loser.
Really cool career in baseball. Definitely is baseballs equivalent of an old salt sea captain. Best of luck in the future I’m sure it’s going to be coaching with his knowledge of the game.
First thing I thought of when I heard this news was the following heartbreaking story. I wonder if he was ever able to have a relationship with his kid?
nytimes.com/athletic/2729646/2021/07/26/as-jay-jac…