Austin Jackson: The Safe Route for the Giants
While it certainly isn't a huge, splashy move or something that is going to heat up the free agent market, it was an excellent decision by the Giants because it was the safe route to go. All winter long, General Manager, Bobby Evans, and Executive, Brian Sabean, have been talking about future centerfielder, Steven Duggar, who finished last season playing with the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate for San Francisco. Duggar has long been a highly touted prospect within the Giants system and the front office has made a conscious effort to protect him in potential trade packages over the past couple of years because they feel as though he will have a significant impact on the big league club and will make a name for himself over time.
The signing of Jackson, to a two-year deal, provides assurance to ensure that Duggar is more than ready when he takes over centerfield on a full-time basis. Depending on how Duggar performs in Spring Training, will dictate his fate for this coming season. The Giants front office brass might elect to have him start the season down in Triple-A and get called up to the big league roster later on in the season or they could open up the season with Duggar on the 25-man roster and have him split playing time with Jackson. Either way, the Giants have that extra assurance in Jackson's incredible defense incase Duggar needs more time or ends up not panning out like they anticipated.
In addition, another reason why this move was the smart route to go for the Giants is because of the consequences that would have come with signing another free agent outfielder, Lorenzo Cain. Cain would have cost San Francisco their 2nd and 5th round draft picks and would have put them well over the $197 million dollar luxury tax threshold. The front office has made it clear this winter that it does not want to exceed that threshold not only because of the penalties that come along with it, but also because they want to be able to spend on next year's incredible free agent class. The reason why they entertained the idea of adding Stanton is because they only would exceed that threshold if it involved him, not any other player available on the market.
Furthermore, by not giving up the draft picks by signing Cain, the Giants made a smart move due to the current state of their farm system. Currently, San Francisco has a farm system that ranks in the bottom third within the league and those picks will allow the Giants front office brass to focus on the draft and building up that depth internally which played such a critical role during their World Series dynasty just a few years ago. Of course, the players that San Francisco takes with those picks always have a chance of not panning out, but if they do end up panning out, then the Giants look smart and will thank themselves later on down the road.
After acquiring Andrew McCutchen from the Pirates last week, the Giants were still on the prowl for another outfielder, particularly a centerfielder, and they achieved that by signing Austin Jackson. Besides Jackson, San Francisco inquired about Jarrod Dyson, Cameron Maybin, and Jon Jay to some extent with some of those inquiries being more serious than others.
For now, the Giants get a centerfielder who has above average defensive skills, hence the amazing catch he made over the bullpen wall for the Cleveland Indians last season, along with a veteran player and a cheap player that always seems to make some sort of impact for the team that he is on. Now, let's hope that Jackson can make highlight reels again with another amazing catch or two that all make us wonder what else he can do. After all, they don't just call him A-Jax for nothing!
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