You're the GM (Game)

[CSF77]

On a 25 man you are looking at 8 starters/ 5 SP. 1 back up catcher. Leaves 11 roster spots for the pen and bench. Pen is Rondon/Wood/Cahill/Strop/Warren/Grimm have pretty much locked up spots. They would need a 2nd LH and Ramirez on the bubble. So at most 8 roster spots. Bench leaves 3 spots. You need 1 guy that can play SS. Baez fills that need. 2nd guy that can play OF. Coghlan did that plus was able to play 3B and 2B. So that leaves 1 spot. I believe it would come down to if Baez is able to play CF. if he can hang it removes the need for a glove first like Szczur and opens the door for Murtan. That I believe becomes a factor.

Now nothing is set in stone and the team will adapt as the season goes on but I expect some game time for Matt. I'm hoping things go his way as he is about as pure of a hitter as there is in the league.

 

[beckdawg]

I'm right with you except that I don't see how you can sign Jackson and keep Coghlan if they're planning on going with 13 pitchers which seems to be the plan. Right now the bench looks to be Ross, Baez, La Stella and Coghlan with all looking like locks for the roster. The money might be a bit tricky too. All that said if you could get Jackson on a 1 or 2 year deal for say $7 mil AAV I trade Coghlan tomorrow and the money almost balances out. I like Cogs fine but the lineup is fairly left handed a versatile righty in Jackson would be a slightly better fit.

I believe La Stella still has options and with Baez's versatility i'm not entirely sure you need him if you go with 13 pitchers to start.

 

[SilenceS]

I believe La Stella still has options and with Baez's versatility i'm not entirely sure you need him if you go with 13 pitchers to start.

Baez is pretty much cemented on the team. He had a great winter ball and was really good in Center. Jed came out about a month ago and said he will play a lot this year. You have to realize Baez is the go to plan if something happens to Zobrist. I know people like the signing but he was a different player in KC. In Oakland, he looked old and slow. I know he was coming back from an injury but those are way more frequent when you are his age. The Cubs would be dumb to expect him to play a full season healthy. I also believe thats why the Cubs may favor more pitchers that can be stretched to starter in case age catches up with Lackey.

 

[beckdawg]

Baez is pretty much cemented on the team. He had a great winter ball and was really good in Center. Jed came out about a month ago and said he will play a lot this year. You have to realize Baez is the go to plan if something happens to Zobrist. I know people like the signing but he was a different player in KC. In Oakland, he looked old and slow. I know he was coming back from an injury but those are way more frequent when you are his age. The Cubs would be dumb to expect him to play a full season healthy. I also believe thats why the Cubs may favor more pitchers that can be stretched to starter in case age catches up with Lackey.

Think you read my comment the wrong way. I was saying La Stella had options I believe and that they could option him to AAA if they choose to carry 13 pitchers. That way if there's an injury or whatever he can be ready. Baez's versatility probably allows you to carry only one infielder when you also consider Zobrist's flexibility as well. And going with my initial comments about signing Jackson, if you sign Jackson you're in no need of Baez in the OF so him covering any of the 3 IF spots he's probable to play is fine. I doubt you're ever going to be in a situation barring injury where you pinch hit for Bryant. Russell is your best defensive option at SS so the only time you'd replace him would be if you want a better hitter which Baez is fine for. I imagine Zobrist/Baez will be a common double switch option moving Zobrist to LF, Baez to 2B and a third guy out of the line up.

In other words, I'm not seeing a situation where you'd really need to throw La Stella out there unless there is an injury in which case you promote him from AAA anyways. La Stella is a decent OBP hitter who's slightly below average defensively. In almost every sub case you'd rather have Baez. On the contrary, Jackson is a superior defender which would be good for late game defensive shifts and he also masks some of the LHP deficiencies that Schwarber and Cogs may have as OFers. So, given all that if we're talking bench players I'd rather have Jackson than La Stella.

But yeah Baez is a 100% lock for the team unless there is an out of no where trade.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

So with the supposedly imminent Gallarda and Fowler signings Baltimore will have been the biggest spender or the offseason, even outspending the Cubs and Tigers. Even with all that spending I'm not sure it puts them over the top in a very tough AL East. Good to finally get the draft pick for Fowler.

 

[CSF77]

Think you read my comment the wrong way. I was saying La Stella had options I believe and that they could option him to AAA if they choose to carry 13 pitchers. That way if there's an injury or whatever he can be ready. Baez's versatility probably allows you to carry only one infielder when you also consider Zobrist's flexibility as well. And going with my initial comments about signing Jackson, if you sign Jackson you're in no need of Baez in the OF so him covering any of the 3 IF spots he's probable to play is fine. I doubt you're ever going to be in a situation barring injury where you pinch hit for Bryant. Russell is your best defensive option at SS so the only time you'd replace him would be if you want a better hitter which Baez is fine for. I imagine Zobrist/Baez will be a common double switch option moving Zobrist to LF, Baez to 2B and a third guy out of the line up.

In other words, I'm not seeing a situation where you'd really need to throw La Stella out there unless there is an injury in which case you promote him from AAA anyways. La Stella is a decent OBP hitter who's slightly below average defensively. In almost every sub case you'd rather have Baez. On the contrary, Jackson is a superior defender which would be good for late game defensive shifts and he also masks some of the LHP deficiencies that Schwarber and Cogs may have as OFers. So, given all that if we're talking bench players I'd rather have Jackson than La Stella.

But yeah Baez is a 100% lock for the team unless there is an out of no where trade.

Why would they pay out that much for Jackson just to tighten up the D? When they can pay Szczur much less to fill that role.

Zorbrist to LF and Baez to 2B most likely will become option 1 late inning. You lost little in power by making that move.

LaStella I believe will be an option and will see some time. All things equal Murtan still is a stronger contact hitter which was a targeted need this off season.

 

[beckdawg]

Why would they pay out that much for Jackson just to tighten up the D? When they can pay Szczur much less to fill that role.

Zorbrist to LF and Baez to 2B most likely will become option 1 late inning. You lost little in power by making that move.

LaStella I believe will be an option and will see some time. All things equal Murtan still is a stronger contact hitter which was a targeted need this off season.

Szczur is a career .224/.276/.343 hitter. Austin Jackson is a career .273/.333/.399 hitter and that is entirely ignoring the fact that he hits LHP even better. Let's please not even bother comparing the two. Also what's "paying out that much?" The entire thought process that spurred this discussion is that Dexter Fowler isn't going to get more than $10-12 mil a season. At that price, Jackson has to be like half that if he even gets that because who at this point has both the need and the money laying around to give him money? It frankly wouldn't shock me to see him get something like Bonifacio got a few years ago from the cubs where he got a spring training invite and a $3 mil deal if he makes the team.

Murton can't play CF which defeats the entire point of this discussion. Regardless, behind Heyward they only have Szczur who doesn't hit and who they had last year when they dealt for Jackson in the first place and a giant maybe in Baez being able to play CF. And obviously some don't even like Heyward as a CF though I'm less inclined to believe that talking point. Maybe you also have Almora but you can't bank on him contributing at the major league level.

Either way, I'm not suggesting they shell out $10 mil for Jackson but I also don't see any way he finds that kind of money with 2 weeks until spring training games start.

 

[DanTown]

Szczur is a career .224/.276/.343 hitter. Austin Jackson is a career .273/.333/.399 hitter and that is entirely ignoring the fact that he hits LHP even better. Let's please not even bother comparing the two. Also what's "paying out that much?" The entire thought process that spurred this discussion is that Dexter Fowler isn't going to get more than $10-12 mil a season. At that price, Jackson has to be like half that if he even gets that because who at this point has both the need and the money laying around to give him money? It frankly wouldn't shock me to see him get something like Bonifacio got a few years ago from the cubs where he got a spring training invite and a $3 mil deal if he makes the team.

Murton can't play CF which defeats the entire point of this discussion. Regardless, behind Heyward they only have Szczur who doesn't hit and who they had last year when they dealt for Jackson in the first place and a giant maybe in Baez being able to play CF. And obviously some don't even like Heyward as a CF though I'm less inclined to believe that talking point. Maybe you also have Almora but you can't bank on him contributing at the major league level.

Either way, I'm not suggesting they shell out $10 mil for Jackson but I also don't see any way he finds that kind of money with 2 weeks until spring training games start.

Two reasons you go with Sczur over Jackson

1. Szczur is way more likely to be ok with a limited role getting spare AB/mostly fielding where as Jackson will want to play more to rebuild his value
2. That money you pay Jackson impacts your ability to trade for money later in the season if necessary

There simply isn't a role where I'd say "let's sign Austin Jackson for 6+ million" to be a fourth OF. If I truly was concerned about my lefties splits, I'd play Baez at 3B and KB in LF. Or move Russell up in the order and bat Szczur in the 9 spot.

 

[CSF77]

Add to it signing Jackson blocks flexibility. Right now they can interchange LaStella/Murtan/Szczur due to the current team needs.

 

[beckdawg]

Two reasons you go with Sczur over Jackson

1. Szczur is way more likely to be ok with a limited role getting spare AB/mostly fielding where as Jackson will want to play more to rebuild his value
2. That money you pay Jackson impacts your ability to trade for money later in the season if necessary

There simply isn't a role where I'd say "let's sign Austin Jackson for 6+ million" to be a fourth OF. If I truly was concerned about my lefties splits, I'd play Baez at 3B and KB in LF. Or move Russell up in the order and bat Szczur in the 9 spot.

Again, i don't see a world in which Jackson gets $6 mil+. Whether or not Jackson wants to play more is beside the point. If he signs with the cubs he couldn't get a better offer and therefore had no choice in the matter. Additionally, what you're also missing here is that the cubs don't have a ton of OF depth. Let's say for example that Soler goes down which given his history isn't that surprising. And let's also suggest in this scenario they don't sign anyone else. You then presumably promote Szczur. What happens if someone else gets dinged for 2-4 weeks? You only other option at that point is Baez and Murton who's not played in the majors since 2009. Maybe Baez adjusts to the OF well or maybe he's Hanley Ramirez out there. After him you got a giant maybe in Alcantara who I love but let's be real here he's not proven much. You got Almlora who could be good but chances he's ready by even midseason for the majors are low. You could perhaps throw Zobrist out there but he had leg issues last year and chances are his range is hurt so I'd rather keep him at 2B. And more to the point, they have very limited options in CF particularly.

So with that being said, sure if Jackson get's like $7-8 mil you aren't going to pay a bench player that. But at say $3-4 mil? I can't imagine that is the difference between them making a move later in the season. And frankly, OF depth is a move they made last season at the deadline anyways which clearly suggests they weren't 100% happy with Szczur's performance anyways. Also for what it's worth, Szczur graded out as a -12.9 UZR/150 in all of the OF in 283 innings(-52.3 in CF over 88.2) and -6 in DRS(-5 of those were in CF). So, this isn't a case where he's all defense and no bat either. And in a world where the cubs do make a move for say pitching, there's a good chance that someone like Baez, Soler, Szczur, Alcantara...etc could be included in a deal. Obviously at this point Baez/Soler would be the meat of a deal while the later would be filler but teams often want guys like Ramirez/Grimm in deals who are MLB ready or very close and cheap.

It's kind crazy to me that I'm having to defend bringing in a guy who's played stellar defense in CF and has a career .333 OBP as a bench piece. Like I said I get the idea you don't want to drop a crap ton of money into a bench player but have people seen the calendar? We're literally 6 weeks and 3 days from opening day. You still have a number of very decent OF out there. Fowler, Denorfia, Jackson, Marlon Byrd, Jeff Francoeur, Matt Joyce, Nate McLouth, David Murphy, Alex Rios, Grady Sizemore, Drew Stubbs, Will Venable and Victorino are all still out there. At this point what leverage do those players have to demand a starting job? Looking at fangraphs rankings for CF the 10 worst teams are the Padres(Melvin Upton), Rockies(Charlie Blackmon or Parra), Rangers(DeShields with Lewis Brinson looming), Phillies(Bourjos and Herrera), A's(Billy Burns and Crisp), Indians(Rajai Davis with Michael Brantley on the DL), Tigers(Anthony Gose and Maybin), Braves(Inciarte, Bourn and Mallex Smith looming), and the Nationals(Michael Taylor and Ben Revere). Those are the 10 worst teams in terms of CF and I have a difficult time arguing that any of them should sign Jackson for starter money. A number of those teams should probably be tanking for picks not trying to compete. And those that might compete like the rangers and nats have younger options who are as intriguing.

So like I initially said, I see no way Jackson gets a decent payday. Players in his situation are literally going to be hunting for jobs because as late as it is in the offseason they have no leverage. The full team reports for spring training next week. If you don't have a job by then you're in panic mode because there's a very real possibility you wont next season.

 

[beckdawg]

Also, one more thought on the "it limits flexibility" angle. How? I mean if we're giving an honest assessment of the present roster where is it weak? C is 3 deep if you count Scwharber and 4 if you count Contreras. 1B is some what weak if Rizzo gets hurt. But if he does get hurt you're not looking for a long term solution just one that gets you thru his injury. 2B/SS the cubs still have a glut of players. Baez for one, Alcantara for two and again, if there's an injury it's not a long term replacement you're looking for. 3B is more stacked than C with Bryant, Baez, Villanueva, and Candleario. In the OF they are pretty set in the corners but as I mentioned they don't have many CF options. In their pitching staff they are pretty deep with starters but lack some up side. And the bullpen looks some what deep at this point.

So, given all that if you were to ask me where the cubs might make a move during the regular season with this roster it would be a bench CF, a young starter and maybe a bullpen piece. Jackson essentially is the bench CF so if you sign him that's off the list. As for the starter, i mean if the cubs make a trade there they aren't going to trade for some $10 mil pitcher. The entire scope of the argument has been trading for a young cost controlled starter. So, signing jackson shouldn't limit that in any fashion. The one place I'd humor the argument is if Rondon goes bad and they suddenly need a closer or whatever. I suppose you could also make the case of needing a 1B if Rizzo gets hurt but I *think* they'd either move Schwarber to 1B or Bryant in that eventuality in which case you'd be filling from 3B pool or corner OF.

The thing to remember though is if they do trade for that cost controlled starter you're likely also moving money off the team. For example, if they do end up trading Soler(not saying they should) he's making around $3.5 mil if memory serves. And if they land that cost controlled starter there's a high degree of probability that he displaces Hammel who's making $9 mil if memory serves. That means you're either including Hammel in the deal or making a side move along with that trade since a $9 mil long reliever is largely redundant.

Jackson strengthens a weakness in the roster which is where you'd spend money on flexibility anyways. If Heyward gets hurt for any length of time next year there's suddenly a rather large shit storm of what to do in CF. Schwarber can't play CF. Soler can't. Cogs shouldn't. Some would argue Bryant could which I'm 100% against. Szczur as I mentioned has been horrible defensively there based on the limited metrics plus putting his bat into the line up everyday would be as bad as giving Barney a shit load of ABs. So at that point you just have to hope Baez isn't horrid in CF or you have to hope Alcantara's 2015 was an aberration. And if you're using Baez in CF a lot of your bench flexibility falls apart. La Stella shouldn't play SS and would have a very underwhelming bat at 3B not to mention that fact that La Stella himself missed most of last season.

So my question is why play with the risk? If Jackson comes at $3-4 mil as I'm suggesting will happen there's a ton of value there. For one he platoons well with Cogs as your quasi-4th OF which is a similar move they made last year with him and Deno. For two, you're likely going to see Schwarber behind the plate some next year meaning your 4th OF plays some what often and if the cubs are up a couple of runs late they might yank Schwarber for better defense anyways which is Jackson. For three, Soler hasn't been a bastion of health in the past and if they make a move for pitching he could be the odd man out anyways. And finally, if you sign Jackson he adds more depth in general. It's not like those other options suddenly go away. It's really just a question of money and whether the juice is worth the squeeze and I think you'll have a hard time arguing the cubs wouldn't be a better team with Jackson on their bench.

The only reasonable argument I can see against it is if you have some better place to put that money but I've yet to see an example that's better. Jackson getting $3-4 mil isn't stopping you from trading for Carlos Carassco who's making $4.5 mil next year. It's not stopping you from dealing for Salazar who's making ~$500k. Gray also is making around $500k. Jose Fernandez is making $2.8 ml. Alex Cobb is making $4 mil, Smyly is making $3.75 mil and Matt Moore is making $5 mil. Hell if we go absolutely nuts here on deals that wont happen, Chris Sale is making $9.15 and Chris Archer is making $2.92 mil. Those are the vast majority of young starter names being thrown around. And as for the bullpen angle, the cubs literally picked up Cahill off waivers and he was one of their better bullpen guys late last year. They have been incredibly good at finding cheap bullpen arms and coaching them up not to mention a guy like Carl Edwards probably doesn't even make their team out of camp.

So long story really short, where are they going to "better" spend that money?

 

[Boobaby1]

So long story really short, where are they going to "better" spend that money?

Judging by the way Theo apparently had to ask for the signings that he did, I would think that you let the season play itself out a little bit. Austin Jackson will not make or break this team in the first half. I honestly don't feel he is a major upgrade to putting Baez in CF and Heyward in RF late in the game.

That said. Where would I put that money? Maybe at the break when I can take someone's impending free agent pitcher as a three month rental.

One would have to think that there will be an Austin Jackson type to be had at the deadline if needed.

You may be right, but like I said, I think we need to see how cohesive this team is before saying what the Cubs need or don't need.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Two reasons you go with Sczur over Jackson

1. Szczur is way more likely to be ok with a limited role getting spare AB/mostly fielding where as Jackson will want to play more to rebuild his value
2. That money you pay Jackson impacts your ability to trade for money later in the season if necessary

There simply isn't a role where I'd say "let's sign Austin Jackson for 6+ million" to be a fourth OF. If I truly was concerned about my lefties splits, I'd play Baez at 3B and KB in LF. Or move Russell up in the order and bat Szczur in the 9 spot.

If Szczur could hit his ceiling I'd say sure, he should make the roster. Someone on another site compared his ceiling to Reed Johnson. If he could be that guy he's valuable. When I'm suggesting Austin Jackson I'm also suggesting trading Coghlan to both make room and make the money work. The net difference would be about $2 mil. I'd much rather have a bench of Ross, Baez, La Stella and Jackson than Ross, Baez, Coghlan and Szcur.

Oh and I'm not sure why anyone thinks Matt Murton is going to make this team. Everything I've read says he was signed for AAA depth.

 

[DanTown]

If Szczur could hit his ceiling I'd say sure, he should make the roster. Someone on another site compared his ceiling to Reed Johnson. If he could be that guy he's valuable. When I'm suggesting Austin Jackson I'm also suggesting trading Coghlan to both make room and make the money work. The net difference would be about $2 mil. I'd much rather have a bench of Ross, Baez, La Stella and Jackson than Ross, Baez, Coghlan and Szcur.

Oh and I'm not sure why anyone thinks Matt Murton is going to make this team. Everything I've read says he was signed for AAA depth.

I don't know what Coghlan fetches in a trade but Coghlan is the insurance policy against Soler's questionable injury history. I mean whatever prospect the Cubs get in a Coghlan deal is unlikely to be a difference maker. Also, Jackson's numbers are fine but he's another high SO guy so in terms of overall lineup ability, he's another hole, not a final piece. And finally, as many saw with his struggles, a career AL guy is unlikely to match his numbers in year one in another league. If it's about one year, I think Coghlan is much more likely to produce at a moderate level when compared to Jackson.

 

[DanTown]

Add to it signing Jackson blocks flexibility. Right now they can interchange LaStella/Murtan/Szczur due to the current team needs.

Four things

1. I don't trust a career AL hitter to do well in one year in the NL
2. I don't love the idea of giving a guy like Jackson a one year deal where he wants playing time. Last year with Coghlan, you started to hear rumblings of being upset over the lack of PT and now you want to add ANOTHER guy who wants/needs PT?
3. Jackson's numbers are basically decent with massively high SO. I don't see him fitting a need here. His offense isn't so miles ahead of Szczur (especially when you normalize the move to the NL) that I'd want to potentially upset the apple cart
4. What if the pitcher they go after is a Tyson Ross or someone of that ilk. Hell, what if some team falls off and wants to sell of a cost controlled pitcher for multiple high level prospects? What if the Cubs need a closer and call the Orioles and have a conversation around Britton? There is no way to know WHEN you'll need money but I wouldn't go giving up a lot of in-season flexibility to sign Austin Jackson as a fifth OF. Because Jackson isn't stupid, he'd sign for a fourth OF SOMEWHERE over fifth here UNLESS you paid him a ton to be a fifth OF. Jackson is likely seeing if an injury/player skill fall off happens.

 

[beckdawg]

I honestly don't feel he is a major upgrade to putting Baez in CF and Heyward in RF late in the game.

This is where I have a problem. Baez for us fans anyways has shown nothing of an ability to play OF. What I mean by that is for all we know he could be utter shit and the supposed "he looks good" reports are smoke. And to be perfectly blunt, even if he does look ok in the short time he's spent in the OF this offseason that's no guarantee of anything. We're talking about lessor players in the winter leagues than you will see in the majors and the ability for MLB hitters to gap shots is almost certainly higher.

So, that's where I have a problem with this comment. That's not hating on Baez and to be honest, expecting him to play 4 positions(6 if you counter the corner OF) well and hit is a stretch for most major league players. To me that's gambling a lot on both Baez playing well and him(and others) staying healthy. Jackson over his 6 year career has averaged roughly 3 fWAR a season. Granted that's a bit inflated by some great seasons early on in his career and he's not necessarily been that the past few but he was worth 2.3 fWAR last season. If you get 2 fWAR out of a bench player especially a CF why fight it?

The only reason not to do this is money but if I'm right on the limited market for him he's not going to get much. Just as an example here, last off season $8 mil bought you Colby Rasmus, $4 mil bought you Jonny Gomes and $2.6 mil bought you Chris Denorfia. That basically breaks the dividing line between starter and bench player. The later got $3-4 mil as bench players and Rasmus as a starter got $8 mil. For what it's worth, Rasmus signed that $8 mil deal jan 20th. We're a full month later this season when talking about Jackson. If you want to argue the cubs don't have money after Heyward et. al. fine but that's kind of a non-starter as a discussion point. Nobody here knows.

 

[beckdawg]

Four things

1. I don't trust a career AL hitter to do well in one year in the NL
2. I don't love the idea of giving a guy like Jackson a one year deal where he wants playing time. Last year with Coghlan, you started to hear rumblings of being upset over the lack of PT and now you want to add ANOTHER guy who wants/needs PT?
3. Jackson's numbers are basically decent with massively high SO. I don't see him fitting a need here. His offense isn't so miles ahead of Szczur (especially when you normalize the move to the NL) that I'd want to potentially upset the apple cart
4. What if the pitcher they go after is a Tyson Ross or someone of that ilk. Hell, what if some team falls off and wants to sell of a cost controlled pitcher for multiple high level prospects? What if the Cubs need a closer and call the Orioles and have a conversation around Britton? There is no way to know WHEN you'll need money but I wouldn't go giving up a lot of in-season flexibility to sign Austin Jackson as a fifth OF. Because Jackson isn't stupid, he'd sign for a fourth OF SOMEWHERE over fifth here UNLESS you paid him a ton to be a fifth OF. Jackson is likely seeing if an injury/player skill fall off happens.

Jackson's career k rate is 23.5%. Massive isn't the word I would use. Above average sure but if that's massive what are Bryant and Baez? Last season the average hitter struck out 20.4% of the time. So, he's +3.1%. As for the first point, I fail to see the logic. Are we saying Ben Zobrist is going to be shit next year as a career AL hitter? As to the second point, I don't recall any comments about Coghlan. That's not to say that you're wrong. They may have happened but it wasn't newsworthy enough to actually matter. And either way, if Jackson signs with the cubs he knows the deal. It's not going to be any kind of shock the amount of playing time he's likely to get. If that's such a sticking point he wont sign. However none of us know whether or not that's an actual issue so the point is a non-starter.

As to the 4th point, Ross is making $9.625 mil. The way the payroll works is such that essentially 60% or so IIRC will have been paid by the trade deadline. So, it's not like we're talking about eating the whole deal here. And again, if you're trading for Ross you're almost certainly dealing Hammel too because you're rather unlikely to create another hole in your pitching staff for 2017 by trading Hendricks and Hammel is a potential FA in 2017 assuming they don't pick up his option.

As for Briton I'd be rather surprised if the cubs went after a closer making serious money. It's just not the way they've built their bullpen and when they've largely tried to do that with guys like Veras they've failed. That being said, if I humor the idea, Britton is making $6.75 mil. From my understanding, most teams go into a season with around $10 mil or more in reserve. In other words, they don't spend down to their last penny in FA. If we suggest that the cubs are at that point right now without adding Jackson, him making $3-4 mil still leaves room to add any of the previously mentioned pitchers and that's before messing with salaries.

So, if you're argument is "don't pay Jackson $8 mil to be a bench player," sure that's a reasonable argument but that's never once been what I said was going on here. If a team was going to give Jackson $8 mil I have to imagine he would already be signed. The fact it's a week from report date and he hasn't been signed and there's is 0 activity around his name is a pretty good indicator of how active the market on him likely is. I'd honestly put the over under at $3 mil.

 

[beckdawg]

Also to add some color here rather than just hypotheticals here's the "rumors" on Jackson from mlbtraderumors

Feb 6th

The Indians could be a fit for free agent outfielder Austin Jackson, suggest Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. Center field depth would be useful considering that Michael Brantley will start the season on the disabled list. Lonnie Chisenhall, Rajai Davis, and Abraham Almonte figure to form the Opening Day outfield, and it’s not hard to see a way to improve upon that trio. At the very least, additional depth in case of injury would be valuable.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/02/quick-hits-bell-linares-puig-jackson-rays.html

Jan 21st

The Brewers, Angels, and Rangers are among the teams that have at least some level of interest in outfielder Austin Jackson, according to a report from ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Meanwhile, he adds, the Cubs could conceivably bring Jackson back “for the right price.”

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/...bs-among-possible-austin-jackson-suitors.html

Dec 23rd

With their chances of retaining Gordon looking slim, the Royals have begun to explore the market for alternatives, writes Heyman, including Denard Span, Gerardo Parra, Austin Jackson and another player who was with Kansas City in 2015 — Alex Rios. Each of those players, with the exception of Parra, is a client of agent Scott Boras, with whom the Royals have negotiated a number of deals in recent seasons. Span, coming off hip surgery, is said to be hosting a showcase for interested on teams on Jan. 8 next month, while Parra reportedly already has three-year offers in hand but hopes to land a fourth year. Jackson and Rios have both been largely absent from the rumor circuit this offseason. Each is coming off a relatively disappointing year, though Jackson was more productive than Rios both at the plate and in the field.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/royals-unlikely-resign-alex-gordon.html

Dec 18th

The Indians had talks with free agent Austin Jackson before signing Rajai Davis, per Heyman. He adds that there are legitimate concerns that Michael Brantley will be out into June “or perhaps even later” after some undisclosed new shoulder “issue” arose this winter.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/dee-gordon-five-year-extension-offer-marlins.html

That's basically it since the winter meetings. There's like 0 heat on him.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Four things

1. I don't trust a career AL hitter to do well in one year in the NL
2. I don't love the idea of giving a guy like Jackson a one year deal where he wants playing time. Last year with Coghlan, you started to hear rumblings of being upset over the lack of PT and now you want to add ANOTHER guy who wants/needs PT?
3. Jackson's numbers are basically decent with massively high SO. I don't see him fitting a need here. His offense isn't so miles ahead of Szczur (especially when you normalize the move to the NL) that I'd want to potentially upset the apple cart
4. What if the pitcher they go after is a Tyson Ross or someone of that ilk. Hell, what if some team falls off and wants to sell of a cost controlled pitcher for multiple high level prospects? What if the Cubs need a closer and call the Orioles and have a conversation around Britton? There is no way to know WHEN you'll need money but I wouldn't go giving up a lot of in-season flexibility to sign Austin Jackson as a fifth OF. Because Jackson isn't stupid, he'd sign for a fourth OF SOMEWHERE over fifth here UNLESS you paid him a ton to be a fifth OF. Jackson is likely seeing if an injury/player skill fall off happens.

Again, if you sign Jackson you trade Coghlan. The money evens out, or at least comes close. Coghlan is making $4.8 mil and you should be able to get Jackson for $6 mil. I'd much rather have a defensive OF that can play all three positions than Coghlan who can play two and, while much improved on defense, isn't what you would call a defensive whiz. Not to mention that you're more in need of a RH off the bench at this point in time. As far as Szczur who knows what he is? He's a .224 hitter in 146 PA with a .619 OPS. Jackson is a lifetime .273 hitter with a .722 OPS. He's also a known vs. an unknown. Out of Coghlan, Szczur and Jackson if I could have my pick, for this club, today, it would be Jackson and it isn't close.

 

[DanTown]

Austin Jackson the past three years

.265/.319/.382 - 22.2K rate

Tad overrated defensive OF.

That's not a bad fourth OF but those numbers came entirely in the AL. If I felt that Jackson was able to give those numbers, then sure. But here's Coghlan

.264/.341/.429 - 19.0K rate

Slightly below average defensive OF.

So now, if I have to trade Coghlan (a guy who has a year before FA and isn't likely to bring back a top 15-20 organizational prospect) to give a spot to Jackson and hope Jackson doesn't have normal struggles in a new league. Also, I have to be ok with Jackson getting sparse playing time while on a pillow contract.

If you traded Soler and ran a platoon of Coghlan (RF) and Jackson (CF) then I'm more on board but I really don't want to trade one guy essentially on a pillow contract to get a different guy.

I simply don't feel the Cubs need a CF THAT badly.