Chicago Cubs acquire Austin Jackson from Seattle Mariners
By Tim Haberin
The Chicago Cubs have acquired outfielder Austin Jackson from the Seattle Mariners, as first reported by Shannon Drayer of ESPN Radio Seattle. The M’s will receive a player to be named later in the deal along with an international signing slot worth $211,000.
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Jackson has been experiencing a somewhat underwhelming season in Seattle, his second with the club after joining them midway through last year as part of the three-team David Price trade with the Rays and Tigers. He is currently slashing .272/.312/.387 with eight home runs and 38 RBI over 107 games. That’s a far cry from his stellar 2012 numbers with Detroit, in which he posted a .300/.377/.479 line and led the American League with ten triples.
Even so, Jackson is an impending free agent who should give the Cubs a decent outfield option while right fielder Jorge Soler recovers from a strained oblique injury. Matt Szczur has been coming off the bench lately, but his production (.224/.274/.343) has hardly been inspiring. Although Jackson has exclusively manned center field during his big league career, Chicago will likely move him over to Soler’s spot while keeping Dexter Fowler at his usual place in center.
Though reputed as a speedy player throughout his MLB tenure, Jackson has never swiped more than 27 bags in a season (his 2010 rookie year) and this year he has been caught in nine of his 24 stolen base attempts. Regardless, the Cubs probably view him as a player who could serve them in a variety of ways down the stretch and potentially into the postseason as well. Pinch-runner and defensive replacement types always seem to make a big difference in playoff runs.
The Cubbies will also have noticed that Jackson appears to be heating up at the right time, hitting .314 in 27 August games thus far. He is still just 28 years of age as well, and a change of scenery into a playoff race (right before a contract year, no less) might have a positive effect.
Teams only have a few hours left to make postseason-eligible additions to their rosters. It remains to be seen if any more notable names will be on the move.