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Edwin Jackson

Athletics, Edwin Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal

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June 7: Jackson’s deal has a $1.5MM base salary at the big league level, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link).

June 6: Veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson and the Athletics are in agreement on a minor league contract, Jackson’s agents at the ESQ Agency have confirmed to MLBTR. The 34-year-old recently exercised an opt-out clause in his previous minor league pact with the Nationals and became a free agent. It seems that the A’s will need to make a relatively quick decision on Jackson, as his new deal comes with a June 20 opt-out date.

Jackson pitched well for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse this season, logging a 3.40 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 41.7 percent ground-ball rate in 55 2/3 innings (a total of 10 starts). The well-traveled righty totaled 76 innings for the Nats at the MLB level in 2017, turning in mixed results. Jackson recorded a 2.94 ERA through his first eight starts last year but surrendered nine home runs through those 49 frames. The long ball caught up to him, as he was tagged for 24 earned runs in his final 22 innings of work. Jackson did maintain solid velocity on his heater (93.5 mph) and check in with a healthy 10.1 percent swinging-strike rate in 2017.

If Jackson sees any MLB time with the A’s, he’ll lay claim to an interesting oddity in MLB record books. The veteran righty has pitched in the Majors for 12 different clubs at present, leaving him one team shy of tying Octavio Dotel’s record of 13. Dating back to the 2003 season, Jackson has pitched in 377 MLB contests, tallying 1800 1/3 inning of 4.67 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 43.7 percent grounder rate. He’s two wins shy of reaching the century mark for his career.

[Related: Oakland Athletics depth chart]

The depth addition comes at a time when the A’s have already lost righty Jharel Cotton for the season due to Tommy John surgery and have recently placed both Andrew Triggs (nerve irritation) and Daniel Gossett (elbow strain) on the disabled list. Righty Paul Blackburn and lefty Brett Anderson, too, are on the big league disabled list for the A’s. Given the glut of injuries in the Oakland rotation picture and the close proximity of Jackson’s opt-out date, it seems there’s a decent chance he’ll ascend to the Majors with the A’s in the coming weeks.

Edwin Jackson Exercises Opt-Out Clause

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Veteran righty Edwin Jackson has exercised his opt-out clause with the Nationals, per Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter). He is expected to be released by the organization tomorrow.

Jackson, 34, spent the 2012 season in D.C. and returned to D.C. last year to help fill a rotation void. He re-joined the club on a minors deal that deal would have paid him at a $1.5MM rate in the majors, with up to $1.4MM in incentives.

Most opt-out provisions allow a player to decide whether to exercise the clause. If triggered, the team then has a period of time within which to decide whether to add the player to the MLB roster. In this case, it appears from the report that the team has already made up its mind to grant Jackson his release, though in theory the Nats could presumably decide to elevate him to the majors.

Jackson certainly has produced solid results thus far at Triple-A Syracuse. Through ten starts, he owns a 3.40 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Of course, there’s also no evidence of any particular changes that would allow Jackson to produce better numbers than he has of late in the majors. Since the start of the 2013 season, he has thrown 531 2/3 innings of 5.32 ERA ball at the game’s highest level.

In any event, the Nationals are evidently disinclined to make a 40-man move in order to hang onto Jackson. There’s no room in the rotation at present, though presumably he could have been utilized in a relief capacity, as he has with some frequency in recent seasons. Jackson will head back onto the open market in hopes of finding a more promising path back to the big leagues.

Nationals Re-Sign Edwin Jackson To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals and right-hander Edwin Jackson have agreed to a minor league contract, according to his agents at the ESQ Agency. Jackson’s deal comes with a $1.5MM base salary as well as an additional $1.4MM worth of incentives.

The 34-year-old Jackson returned for a second stint with the Nats in 2017, signing a midseason minor league pact after initially spending time in the Orioles organization. Jackson posted a pristine 0.44 ERA in 20 1/3 Triple-A frames for the Nationals before being called up to the big league roster following Joe Ross’ season-ending Tommy John surgery. He’d go on to make 13 starts for the Nationals down the stretch, registering a 5.07 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and 38 percent ground-ball rate.

Jackson turned in a 2.94 ERA through his first eight starts, though he surrendered a whopping nine home runs through those 49 frames. That susceptibility to the long ball caught up to him over his final five starts, as Jackson was tagged for 24 earned runs in 22 innings of work. That said, he did average 93.6 mph on his heater with the Nationals and turn in an above-average 10.1 percent swinging-strike rate.

[Related: Washington Nationals depth chart]

The Nats will once again rely upon Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark in the top four spots of the rotation this coming season, though the fifth spot looks to be unsettled as Spring Training approaches. Jackson will join the race for that spot, vying with fellow right-handers Erick Fedde, A.J. Cole and Austin Voth as well as left-hander Tommy Milone (who also signed a minor league deal).

Of course, the Nationals have at times been linked to various starting pitching targets on both the free-agent and trade markets, leaving open the possibility that they’ll bring in another option to whom they’ll promise that remaining rotation vacancy.

NL Notes: Marlins, Stanton, Bucs, Freeman, Nats

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While the Marlins’ Jeffrey Loria era will soon end, the franchise’s low-payroll ways won’t, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter agreed to purchase the team from Loria for $1.2 billion ($400MM of which will come from Sherman), but they don’t have the type of money necessary to spend big on a roster, according to a potential investor who spoke with Jackson. Sherman and Jeter informed Jackson’s source that they plan to pare down payroll from $115MM to either $80MM to $85MM or $55MM in 2018, depending on whether they trade high-priced MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton. Slashing spending won’t sit well with Marlins fans who have witnessed the team go on a late-season run and Stanton turn in an awe-inspiring 2017 performance, Jackson notes. And Jackson adds other details that likely won’t please fans, either, as the investor told him Jeter’s set to pay himself $5MM per year until he recoups his $25MM investment and get a company credit card so he can cover expenses from his home in Tampa Bay to Miami.  Further, Jackson suggests that FOX won’t be renegotiating the Marlins’ television contract, the least valuable in baseball, before its expiration at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.

More from the National League…

  • The Pirates placed utilityman Josh Harrison on the disabled list with a broken left pinky finger and recalled fellow infielder/outfielder Chris Bostick from Triple-A on Sunday, per a team announcement. The injury, which is the result of a hit by pitch from Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle on Saturday, will end Harrison’s season, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review.  The 30-year-old Harrison currently leads the majors in HBPs (23, two more than Anthony Rizzo) and closes 2017 having produced 3.2 rWAR/2.5 fWAR and a .272/.339/.432 batting line with 16 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 542 plate appearances. Depending on whether the struggling Pirates elect to rebuild over the winter, it’s possible Harrison has played his last game as a Buc. The versatile veteran is reasonably priced through 2020, including a pair of club option years, and could be a trade candidate.
  • The Braves will check first baseman Freddie Freeman’s left wrist for structural damage on Monday, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.  “There’s no pain.  I just have no strength,” said Freeman, who fractured his wrist May 18 and didn’t return until July 4.  While the superstar has hit an outstanding .294/.375/.520 since coming back, that output pales in comparison to Freeman’s otherworldly .341/.461/.748 pre-injury line.  Freeman told Mark Bowman of MLB.com and other reporters Saturday that he has been swinging a “wet newspaper,” has “nothing left,” and that his “bat speed is absolutely gone.” The left-handed slugger also revealed that facing hard-throwing southpaws has recently presented a challenge from a mental standpoint because of his wrist issue. Even though he’s clearly less than 100 percent and the Braves aren’t in contention, Freeman insists he’s not going to shut it down early this year, per O’Brien.
  • Righty Edwin Jackson’s unexpected success with the Nationals is the result of diligent work he has done with trainer Kevin Visser dating back to the offseason, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post details.  “He was adamant that he didn’t think he had peaked yet,” Visser said of his initial meeting in December with the 33-year-old Jackson.  The two quickly began making adjustments to Jackson’s mechanics, dropping his elbow 135 degrees and having him land toward home with his shoulders squared to the plate, Castillo explains. The changes didn’t immediately yield positive results, evidenced by Jackson’s very brief and difficult stint with the Orioles earlier in the season, but he has gotten more comfortable as the year has progressed. In his second go-round with Washington, which signed Jackson to a minor league deal in June, the veteran of 12 teams has logged a 2.49 ERA across 49 innings (eight starts) and recorded his lowest walk rate (2.76 BB/9) since 2012.

Nationals To Designate Jacob Turner

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The Nationals will designate Jacob Turner for assignment, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). His roster spot will be needed for the ascension of Edwin Jackson to take a start today.

Washington also needed to clear active roster space for just-acquired relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. That’ll be accomplished by optioning Austin Adams and Trevor Gott, each of whom had come up briefly while the club nailed down that trade.

Turner, 26, has played much the same role the Nats will now ask Jackson to occupy, with one major difference: now, there’s an open rotation spot. Jackson will have the first crack after allowing just one earned run on nine hits in his 20 1/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse. Assuming he clears waivers and accepts an assignment, Turner will likely remain a major league option as well.

Nats Select Jacob Turner’s Contract; Edwin Jackson Likely To Start Tuesday

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The Nationals announced today that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Jacob Turner and transferred Koda Glover to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. As MASNsports.com’s Dan Kolko tweets, newly acquired Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson will join the team tomorrow in Los Angeles, so Turner’s recall could just be a one-day stint. Because Blake Treinen went to the A’s in that trade, there’s already an open spot on the 25-man roster for Turner.

While Turner could conceivably start tomorrow’s game in place of the injured Joe Ross, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports that Edwin Jackson will be called upon to start tomorrow’s contest. Signed to a minor league deal last month, the veteran Jackson has allowed just one run on nine hits and 10 walks with 22 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. That performance, it seems, has earned him the first crack at the fifth spot in the rotation, which is now vacant following the news that Ross will require Tommy John surgery. His promotion will require another 40-man move.

Regarding Glover, manager Dusty Baker told reporters today that the 24-year-old hasn’t yet thrown since being placed on the disabled list more than a month ago (Twitter link via Castillo). However, Baker also said that he’s hopeful Glover will be able to return when he’s first eligible to be activated. That seems like an ambitious but not impossible goal. Glover has already spent 37 games on the shelf, but if he’s able to resume throwing in the near future, the club could get him on track for a couple of minor league rehab innings within that roughly three-week window.

Nationals, Edwin Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Edwin Jackson, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Jackson, who is represented by the Legacy Agency, will report to Triple-A Syracuse for the time being.

This will mark the second tour of duty for Jackson with the Nationals, as he previously enjoyed a solid 2012 season as a member of the Nats’ rotation back in 2012. That year — the last in which he turned in quality results as a starter over the course of a full season — saw Jackson toss 189 1/3 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate.

Jackson parlayed that season into an ill-fated four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs, though he only made it through two and a half seasons in Chicago before being released. During the third season of that contract (2015), Jackson did manage to post a very respectable 3.07 ERA through 56 2/3 innings between the Cubs and Braves while working exclusively out of the bullpen. His secondary stats were a bit more questionable, however, and he wasn’t able to repeat that success in 2016 with the Padres.

The Nats will hope that Jackson can prove to have something left in the tank, possibly to help out a beleaguered bullpen that has been the club’s definitive Achilles heel all season.

Edwin Jackson Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Edwin Jackson has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Orioles and has elected free agency, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

The veteran Jackson’s time with the Orioles proved to be brief. After pushing an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Orioles from June 1 back to June 5, the 33-year-old triggered that clause, prompting the Orioles to place him on the big league roster. However, he’d appear in just three games and total a mere five innings with the O’s. In that time, Jackson surrendered four earned runs (seven total runs) on 11 hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Jackson was solid with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.10 ERA with 17 strikeouts against 10 walks in 20 1/3 innings. And he, of course, comes with plenty of big league experience under his belt. Jackson had a productive season as recently as 2015, when he notched a 3.07 earned run average with 6.5 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 in 55 2/3 frames between the Cubs and Braves. In all, he’s compiled a 4.65 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 in 1729 1/3 Major League innings. Jackson, one of the most well-traveled players in Major League history, has now appeared for 12 different big league teams, leaving him one Major League club shy of tying the record 13 franchises for which Octavio Dotel appeared in his career.

Orioles Designate Edwin Jackson For Assignment

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The Orioles have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Jimmy Yacabonis from Triple-A Norfolk and recalled fellow righty Logan Verrett from Norfolk. To clear space, they’ve optioned righty Stefan Crichton from Norfolk and designated righty Edwin Jackson for assignment.

The moves bring two fresh arms to a bullpen that was forced to pitch 7 2/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Yankees yesterday. Crichton and Jackson pitched 3 2/3 of those innings, allowing five runs between them.

The O’s selected Jackson’s contract just four days ago. His brief action with the Orioles was his first in the big leagues since posting a 5.89 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 84 innings with the Marlins and Padres last season. The veteran has now appeared with 12 big-league teams over the course of his 15-year career.

The 25-year-old Yacabonis had an 0.90 ERA over 30 innings with Norfolk, but with an alarming 5.4 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. As those numbers suggest, control has never been a strong suit for him throughout his five-year minor-league career. MLB.com ranks him 29th among Orioles prospects, noting that he relies heavily on a 93-95 MPH fastball. As David Hall of the Virginian-Pilot notes, Yacabonis continues to work on the development of a hybrid slider-curve that could prove key to his development going forward. He has never pitched in the big leagues.

Orioles Select Contract Of Edwin Jackson

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2:35pm: The Orioles have announced the move. Left-hander Donnie Hart has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, leaving Richard Bleier as the lone southpaw in manager Buck Showalter’s bullpen.

8:33am: The Orioles will select the contract of veteran right-hander Edwin Jackson, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The team has an open 40-man spot after outrighting left-hander Paul Fry last week, so the team need only make a corresponding 25-man roster move.

Jackson’s minor league deal with Baltimore contained a June 1 opt-out date that he agreed to push back to this past Monday, as Encina originally reported. By triggering that clause, Jackson gave the O’s 48 hours to add him to the Major League roster or grant him his release, and the team has opted for the former option.

Through 20 1/3 innings with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, the 33-year-old Jackson has turned in a very solid 3.10 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 32.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been particularly effective lately, with three straight scoreless appearances — a total of 5 2/3 innings. Jackson has worked primarily in a multi-inning relief role with the Tides and is likely to occupy that same role initially with the Orioles, per Encina. Baltimore does have some instability in its rotation, however, so it’s at least feasible that Jackson could return to a starting gig down the line if he performs well out of the ’pen.

Notably, the Orioles will be the 12th Major League team for which Jackson will appear in his career. That puts him just one club shy of the Major League record, which is currently held by Octavio Dotel, who played for 13 teams. Jackson has previously suited up for the Dodgers, Rays, Tigers, D-backs, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals, Cubs, Braves, Marlins and Padres. In 1724 1/3 innings at the Major League level, he has a career 4.65 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 44 percent ground-ball rate.

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