Edwin Jackson?

Obviously the Twins will target starting pitching this offseason. This may have been discussed already, but what do we think of Edwin Jackson as a potential free agent signing?

I think he could be a solid No.2/3 starter (maybe closer to a #3), but the fact he is a Scott Boras client is a big factor in where he lands and how inflated his salary is/will be. The Nationals paid $11 milion this year for a slightly below .500 record (10-11) and an ERA a shade over 4.00 (4.03), but he did make over 30 starts again and pitched close to 190 innings. If my recollection is correct he set a career-high in K/9 at 8.0, and he still won't turn 30 until next September.

I think Jackson will be on the Twins' list of free agent targets, but they will quickly lose interest if the salary numbers get too high. They may be able get two starters of comparable ability and age for the same price as Jackson on a one or two-year deal, so they should let someone else overpay.

I think Jackson will end up costing to much, he is a solid pitcher, but a lot like Liriano in he never seems to be able to harness his natural talent.

I agree that he'll be on the Twins radar but at this point, he might be a better fit in the NL. I don't think the Twins will be willing to go as high as needed on him and someone else will give him that fourth year.

"Everybody" assumed after last season he was going to get a 3 year deal for around $30 million. And obviously all the baseball GM's disagreed with "everybody." If you can get him for 1 or 2 years at a reasonable price, do it. He's the kind of pitcher who isn't all that exciting, but for the Twins to really be a contender next year they're going to need to get lucky signing someone like this who then has a good year. Not saying Jackson is my first choice, but there's probably going to have to be somebody of this nature.

Edwin Jackson is just a better version of Liriano, thats not saying much, and having a 4 ERA in the NL is like having a 4.25-4.5 in the AL. No thanks, not for that much money.

The National's have very few holes to fill this off-season, thus they should have money to throw around for a 4th starter. My money's on him re-signing unless Boras tries to talk him out of it and wait until February which would likely tank his demand for a 2nd year in a row.

He dropped Boras as his agent this past summer. Sign him to a 2/year deal worth 16 mil and have a third year option based off of starts/innings/whatever other stat. Not having Boras, he should be a little easier to sign. I still think you could sign Liriano too from the discount rack. 1/yr and 4-5 mil.

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Originally Posted by Docsilly

He dropped Boras as his agent this past summer. Sign him to a 2/year deal worth 16 mil and have a third year option based off of starts/innings/whatever other stat. Not having Boras, he should be a little easier to sign. I still think you could sign Liriano too from the discount rack. 1/yr and 4-5 mil.

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2/16 mil? I mean yeah I would do that in a heartbeat but no way will he come that cheaply.

He has to be tired of these one year deals. You could go up to 2/yr and 20 mil with the third year option. I just think he would be willing to sign a multi-year deal for slightly less than go year to year like he has been. Security has to mean something especially since he dumped Boras. Boras was obviously hurting him.

He spent the entire offseason looking for 3/30-3/36 and when he didn't get it he signed a one year deal. I think he'll get that deal this year. He's pretty unimpressive but I'm all for buying the best pitcher that 3/30+ will buy. I don't see that pitcher as the answer but rather something to stop the bleeding without messing up the future.

Why would Jackson sign with the Twins? He will have good offers from more attractive organizations. The only way I see it is by giving him that extra year than he can get elsewhere. If someone offers 3, should the Twins offer 4?

Jackson is the quintisential 'tease' of a pitcher who never quite fullfills his promise BUT is a very reliable workhorse on a year to year basis.
Im all for signing him IF he is the 'high' end of pitchers Terry Ryan will look at.
There are plenty more I like better, but I definately like him.

Oh, I didn't realize he dropped Boras as his agent. I should have done a little more investigation, but I didn't see that particular news when researching him.

Yes, as indicated in my blueprint, I think he would be worth good money. The range for he and Marcum was 3/$30, with Marcum probably being a bit cheaper than that and Jackson a bit more expensive (age difference). The two are VERY similar pitchers in terms of numbers.

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Originally Posted by BBWriterMan

Oh, I didn't realize he dropped Boras as his agent. I should have done a little more investigation, but I didn't see that particular news when researching him.

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Several teams reportedly offered Jackson multi-year deals but Boras convinced him that signing a 1 year deal for an NL contender would boost his stock for a better contract this offseason. Boras' actual intentions were to have him be the insurance policy for Strasburg (also his client) when they shut him down. Apparently that information leaked to him, and he fired Boras.

As far as Jackson the pitcher, I like his stability.. 30+ starts 6 straight years, was very good in his time in the AL central with the Sox and Tigers.. So he's a proven AL pitcher, and he misses a good amount of bats. I'd say he's one of the better FA targets along with Marcum, Iwakuma, Villanueva as well as McCarthy and Baker if healthy.

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Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

Yes, as indicated in my blueprint, I think he would be worth good money. The range for he and Marcum was 3/$30, with Marcum probably being a bit cheaper than that and Jackson a bit more expensive (age difference). The two are VERY similar pitchers in terms of numbers.

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Which numbers are you looking at?

Edwin Jackson - career ERA 4.40
Shaun Marcum - 3.76

I'll take Marcum everytime if he's healthy. His health concerns do level the playing field though.

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Originally Posted by kab21

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Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

Yes, as indicated in my blueprint, I think he would be worth good money. The range for he and Marcum was 3/$30, with Marcum probably being a bit cheaper than that and Jackson a bit more expensive (age difference). The two are VERY similar pitchers in terms of numbers.

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Which numbers are you looking at?

Edwin Jackson - career ERA 4.40
Shaun Marcum - 3.76

I'll take Marcum everytime if he's healthy. His health concerns do level the playing field though.

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I was referring to more recent numbers. He was brought up to the big leagues way too early and struggled mightily for the first 300 innings he pitched. After that, the ERA numbers are more similar, as are the K/BB numbers.

Tampa Bay, Detroit, Arizona, White Sox, St. Louis, Washington in the last 4 years. Do you think there may be another reason why we shouldn't give this guy a long term deal ?

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Originally Posted by Shane Wahl

I was referring to more recent numbers. He was brought up to the big leagues way too early and struggled mightily for the first 300 innings he pitched. After that, the ERA numbers are more similar, as are the K/BB numbers.

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Not even close. Marcum has put up a 3.39, 3.64, 3.54 and 3.70 ERA in his last 4 seasons (minus the TJ year). Jackson has only come close to Marcum's worst in his best seasons.

TR: "we were interested, but the years and money were just more than we wanted to go". He may say that directly, or he may get Christiansen to put it in his column about how smart they are for showing restraint, but you can just about guarantee we'll be hearing that sentiment about any pitcher that you are going to really want.