Edwin Jackson is one of the better free-agent pitchers remaining on the open market. So it is perhaps no surprise to see this tweet from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:
Sources: E. Jackson has multiple three-year offers. Also could take one-year deal, go back on market next off-season.
The tweet doesn’t indicate which teams have made these offers, though Jackson has been linked to the Orioles and Red Sox, as well as his former team, the Cardinals. Rosenthal added:
Hamels, Greinke likely at top of 2012-13 FA class if #SFGiants extend Cain. Jackson, 28, could further enhance value with strong year.
Thus, Rosenthal appears to agree with Baseball Nation’s Marc Normandin, who suggested just yesterday that Jackson might be better off taking a one-year deal:
Rather than spend the next four years in Baltimore, a team more desperate for Jackson than Jackson is desperate for work, he can afford to sign with the Red Sox or Cardinals on a one-year deal, given the newly-opened rotation spots that will be there for him come 2013. There will be competition for those gigs, but they will also be plentiful. Scott Boras knows what he’s doing if Jackson shoots down a larger offer for a one-year stay of free agency.
Spring training begins in less than four weeks; whatever decision Jackson makes, it is likely to come soon.