The St. Louis Cardinals must bid yet one more adieu to a departing free agent. According to CBS's John Heyman, starting pitcher Edwin Jackson has come to terms with the Washington Nationals:
jackson is a 1 year deal, believed to be in $8-to-12M range. #nats
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 2, 2012
Jackson finished the season with the Cards, pitching in 12 starts for a 3.58 ERA and 4.01 FIP. By signing with the Nationals, Jackson has now joined his 6th team in 5 seasons. The well-traveled righty has played most recently for the Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks and has pitched 1079 innings in the bigs, good for a 4.46 ERA and 4.34 FIP.
The signing will not only impact the Nationals big league roster, but also the Cardinals in the 2012 Amateur Draft:
With pick No. 58 for Jackson, #Cardinals just saw their bonus pool for first 10 rds of #mlbdraft rise by $884.1k. Total stands at $9.165 mil
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) February 2, 2012
Recent changes in the collective bargaining agreement have altered both the way in which teams are compensated by free agent departures and the amount teams can spend on picks, making the Jackson signing somewhat uncharted territory for the Cardinals front office.
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