Edwin Jackson to Nationals Reaction Blowout

Finally, Edwin Jackson signed today. The right handed starting pitcher decided to sign with the Washington Nationals this afternoon, after a long free agency that was widely speculated on. While teams like the Orioles and Red Sox seemed deep in on him, he ended up in DC to pitch for the Nats. Here are some reactions and notes that come out of the signing.

• Adam Kilgore from the Washington Post has some quotes from Nationals GM Mike Rizzo.

"We did not acqire Edwin Jackson to trade another starting pitcher," "In spring training or before spring training, if a deal comes up we can't pass up that positively impacts our ball club, we'd certainly be open-minded to it."

Rizzo also said that the Nats started talking to agent Scott Boras about signing Jackson about two weeks ago and that a turning point for the Nationals was when Jackson was willing to sign a one year deal.

• Joe Lemire from SI.com writes that with Jackson now on the Nats, they are ready to start looking towards a late October run. He says that with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and now Jackson, they have an elite starting rotation.
• Steve Gardner from USA Today says that might be an average starting pitcher, but that he would add value to all thirty MLB teams with the innings he is able to eat. He calls Jackson "a bargain in fantasy (baseball) and reality"

• Eben Novy-Williams from Bloomberg says that the Nats signed Jackson, who the New York Yankees were trying to sign as well.
• David Schoenfield from ESPN says that despite all the hype for Jackson in this off season, he is still just a number four starter who ranked 84th in the league in On Base Percentage allowed.

"For all the offseason speculation (I don't think "hype" is quite the right word), Jackson is basically a No. 4-caliber starter, albeit one who has made 30-plus starts five seasons in a row. He comes with little risk but little chance for upside."

Anthony Fenech from the Detroit Free Press writes from a Tigers perspective, and says that the Tigers can cross Jackson off of their list after pursuing him for the fifth rotation spot.

• Grant Brisbee from Baseball Nation, SBNation's baseball hub, wonders that with Edwin Jackson now in play, who is bounced from the rotation in DC? He says that they are still trying to move John Lannon, but Mike Rizzo said that despite his minor league option, they will not send him to the minors and they plan on trading him still if they can. He says that it might be Chein-Ming Wang out of the mix.
• Rob Neyer, also of Baseball Nation, also wonders if the signing of Jackson can propel the Nationals into a playoff contender. He says that Jackson may be the last piece to the puzzle that has not ever seen the Nationals in the MLB post season.
• Carson Cistulli from Fan Graphs writes that Jackson has been a journey man despite his good credentials, and wonders what the Nationals are trying to do by signing him. He says that this signing does not make them instant contenders, and says that Jackson can add about three wins based off of WAR, and that won't be enough in the NL East.
• Patrick Reddington from Federal Baseball, SBNation's Washington Nationals blog, has more quotes from Nats GM Mike Rizzo on the signing

"When he came to a possible shorter-term deal, a one-year deal, he made it much more palatable for us," Rizzo explained this afternoon, "And when we recognized that on a one-year deal at the term and the value of this pitcher, [it] was too good to pass up and we thought it improved our club immensely."

• Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus looks back at Jackson to the September of 2003, and says that he is still the same exact pitcher as he was back then. He says that he had the same tools during his MLB debut vs Arizona, on his 20th birthday.
• Aaron Goldstein from the American Spectator says that if MLB adds a second wild card, Jackson gives the Nationals the ability to contend for the playoffs in 2012. Pitching on his seventh team, he says he has a bit to do to catch up to Octavio Dotel for 13 teams.
• Kevin McCauly from SBNation DC talks about the deal, and that GM Mike Rizzo denies shopping left handed pitcher John Lannon. He says that they did not acquire Jackson to move another pitcher.
• Marc Normandin from Over the Monster, the SBNation Boston Red Sox blog, wonders that with Jackson now on the Nationals, do the Red Sox try to acquire Lannon? The Red Sox were one of the teams in on Jackson, but did not sign him for money reasons.
• Alex Speier from WEEI.com offers more Boston perspective, saying that the Nationals once again took a pitcher that the Red Sox were pursuing but did not get. They would not offer the prospects for Gonzalez and would not pay for Jackson.
• Roch Kubatko from from MASN Sports says that once again, the Baltimore Orioles miss out on a player they coveted because they would not go beyond three years. He says that after the Orioles struck out on Jackson and first baseman Casey Kotchman, the Adam Jones rumors could start up again.
• Danny Knobbler from CBS Sports says that the the Nationals signing of Jackson proves that they want to win now, or at least are going to try to contend for the first time in their brief existence. However, he wonders how they are going to compete in a division with teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.
• NBC Washington says that after being turned down by Prince Fielder, the Nationals turned their attention to the pitching staff and ended up with the guy that they wanted.
• JJ Stankveitz from CSN Chicago writes about Jackson settling for a one year deal, and remembers when the Chicago White Sox almost traded him to the Nationals for Adam Dunn. Now, the White Sox do have Dunn and the Nationals ended up with Jackson after two years.
• Joe Lucia from the Outside Corner says that the Nationals were not a team he expected to compete for Jackson's services at the end.