The Atlanta Braves made a trade today to acquire Jay Jackson from the San Francisco Giants.
The Atlanta Braves acquired thirty-four-year-old reliever Jay Jackson from the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The #Braves today acquired RHP Jay Jackson from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for cash considerations and a player to named later or cash considerations. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated RHP Yoan López for assignment.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) November 22, 2021
Jay Jackson debuted in 2015 for the San Diego Padres, appearing in six games, posting a 6.23 ERA, 7.29 xERA, 1.98 FIP, 3.34 xFIP, a 3.86 SIERA, and a 65 ERA+. He then spent the next three seasons pitching for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
He then played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019 appearing in 28 games, pitching 30.1 innings, with a 4.45 ERA, 4.47 xERA, 4.66 FIP, 3.60 xFIP, a 3.57 SIERA, and a 101 ERA+.
Jackson did not pitch at the major league level in 2020; joining the Giants in 2021.
Jackson appeared in 23 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2021, throwing 21.2 innings with a 3.74 ERA, 4.33 xERA, 4.05 FIP, 4.36 xFIP, a 3.86 SIERA, and a 111 ERA+. He struck out 31.1% batters while walking 13.3%.
He relies heavily on his slider/fastball combination:
- Slider – .220 BA, .209 xBA, .440 SLG, .401 xSLG, .313 wOBA, .305 xwOBA, 31.1% Whiff%
- Fastball- .154 BA, .196 xBA, .269 SLG, .415 xSLG, .275 wOBA, .336 xwOBA, 26.9% Whiff%
Jackson is more of a middle reliever/depth piece at this point in his career. The Braves bullpen was phenomenal in October but was lefty-heavy. The right-hander the Braves trusted the most was Luke Jackson.
After that, the next right-handed choice was Jesse Chavez or Chris Martin. There could be room for Jay Jackson to work his way into a solid role in the Braves bullpen.
It is also early in the offseason, meaning this trade could mean nothing and there is a chance Jackson never pitches for the Braves. However, relief pitchers are volatile, meaning that it is never a bad thing to stockpile them.
There is also the fun of speculating that Jackson was a teammate in Hiroshima with a certain high-level free agent Seiya Suzuki. It probably means nothing, but it is fun to speculate.
Jackson is a solid depth piece to add in November for depth purposes that the Braves moved virtually nothing for.