Bleacher Bums Forum

Well, you've got to think this won't drag out too long.

One thing about guys who put together baseball teams for a living: They are open-minded in their approach to evaluating talent. They strip away reputations and examine contributions. They study the signs of improvement and regression.

They’re not always going to reach the right conclusions, of course, and certainly they don’t always chart the right course, as they’re not operating in a vacuum. They’re dealing with an ever-changing inventory of players and a landscape that is impacted by 29 other teams.

It was reported late Tuesday by ESPN and Sirius-SM’s Jim Bowden that the Cubs and Rangers are finalists for the services of Edwin Jackson, with a suggestion that one of them might do what his previous frontrunner, the Padres, would not: give Jackson a four-year contract.

EJax? Four years, maybe $50 million? Even three years, $36 million? Either way, isn’t that a lot for a guy who will be going to his eighth team, the seventh in his last six seasons?

Jackson has been the sort of player that you rent when you need him, not buy for the long haul. But if Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are open-minded to Jackson – and the Cubs have not confirmed their involvement with this Scott Boras client – then there must be a reason, just as there was when they offered Anibal Sanchez $75 million over five years last week.

Sure enough, there is. In terms of regular-season performance, Jackson has been almost exactly the same pitcher as Sanchez since July 31, 2010, when he was traded from the Diamondbacks to the White Sox.

At 29, he is older than Sanchez – by less than six months, however – and while Sanchez pitched very well against the Orioles, Yankees and Giants in the just-completed postseason, Jackson was hit hard by the Cardinals. You can argue that Jackson’s regular-season numbers are a tick better than Sanchez’s, however.

Since August, 2010, Sanchez has gone 22-28 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 75 starts for the Marlins and Tigers, working 462 2/3 innings. While with the White Sox, Cardinals and Nationals, Jackson was 26-22 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 74 starts, working 464 1/3 innings.

Both pitched primarily in the National League, but Jackson made 14 more starts against American League lineups than Sanchez (34-20) in this time. Adjusted for league differential, his ERA and WHIP would be lower than Sanchez’s over the last 2 1/3 seasons.

Jackson’s slider is about as good of a put-away pitch as anything Sanchez has, and he throws harder – a lot harder – than Sanchez. According to the PitchFX information at Fangraphs.com, Jackson hit 100 on a radar gun as recently as 2010 and last year peaked at 97.6 mph with an average of 93.4 on his fastball (fourth best in the NL among qualifiers, behind Jeff Samardzija, Jordan Zimmermann and Edinson Volquez). Sanchez topped out at 96.9 and his fastball averaged 91.5.

Sanchez has shown more pitchability than Jackson. He throws more strikes and uses his secondary pitches (especially a changeup) much more often. But stack the numbers side by side and it’s hard to see why one guy is an emerging star and the other is considered a tease and disappointment waiting to happen.
It’s amazing to me that Jackson has bounced around so much and not become walking scar tissue. He has an even demeanor in the clubhouse and seems popular among his ever-changing cast of teammates.

Last night, I asked an executive who knows Jackson well about him. “Like him,’’ he said. “Been on some good teams. Athletic. Competes well.’’

As for the improvement he’s shown the last two years, he said: “Command better now that he has learned how to harness his fastball. Slider always (his) out pitch. Solid No. 3, 4 starter. Takes ball.  I like him personally.’’

How would Jackson respond if he got another chance to spend a few years in the same spot? It seems that Epstein and Hoyer believe he’d be just fine, maybe better.