Courtesy of Cleveland.com

Austin Jackson

Position: Outfield

Bats: Right- Throws: Right

Date of Birth: February 1, 1987 (Age 30)

2017 Stats: 85 G, .318/.387/.482, 46 R, 19 2B, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 3 SB, 1.8 WAR

It feels like Austin Jackson has been in the league for ages now. Jackson was a farmhand of the New York Yankees, but was moved to Detroit in 2009 along with Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth, and Max Scherzer in a three-team deal. The deal netted the Yankees an outfielder by the name of Curtis Granderson.

Jackson, the 2010 Rookie of the Year runner-up, spent a good portion of his career in Detroit. He accumulated 46 defensive runs saved in his four and a half seasons as a Tiger.

Jackson went to the Seattle Mariners in another three-team deal in 2014; this time involving David Price. He was a poor hitter as a Mariner as he hit .257/.297/.343 with 65 runs, eight homers, 52 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 161 games from 2014-2015.

He was later moved again in 2015 to the Cubs in a waiver wire deal. This deal involved a player to be named later and international slot money; a far cry from the past trades involving Cy Young Award winners like Scherzer and Price.

Jackson then had an injury-riddled season in 2016 with the Chicago White Sox and signed on with the Cleveland Indians a year later as a reclamation project. Jackson thrived with Cleveland, hitting .318/.387/.482 with a 131 wRC+ in 318 plate appearances.

Jackson played all three outfield spots this past season, but was not extremely impressive with the glove. He posted -2 DRS with a -13.8 UZR/150 before losing his starting job to Jason Kipnis and essentially becoming a platoon player.

Jackson killed lefties, slashing .354/.440/.574 with a 171 wRC+ against them. He was less impressive against righties, hitting .291/.345/.411 with a 100 wRC+ against them. He had an expected weighted on base average of .306 against righties as opposed to a .372 expected weighted on base average against lefties.

Jackson will likely be seen as platoon player heading into 2018 and will likely perform well as one.

Contract

Jackson is currently looking at a short-term, low-paying deal. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports cites an expert’s opinion who predicts he will get a two-year, $15 million contract. Heyman himself feels Jackson will get a two-year deal worth $12 million dollars.

Recommendation

Signing Jackson does not make sense for the Mets. They already have Juan Lagares and Jackson would essentially be Michael Conforto‘s backup in right field. With roughly $30 million to spend, there are better things the Mets can use the money on than a platoon outfielder.