Oct 8, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Edwin Jackson (33) looks on during game two of the 2012 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson finally got his big pay-day, signing with the Cubs for a reported 4 years and $52 million according to several sources on Twitter, including former teammate Gio Gonzalez.

Gorzelanny signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for a reported $6 million which is right around where he would have been if he had been tendered by the Nationals.

Both pitchers were deemed replaceable by the Nationals not necessarily for their pitching but for the money they would have been making or were seeking for the role they would have played in Washington. Gorzelanny’s role is essentially replaced by Zach Duke or Bill Bray while Jackson’s is replaced by Dan Haren who is making the same yearly salary as Jackson but for only one year. Next year, it could be Haren in Jackson’s place for all we know.

The two signing elsewhere, along with John Lannan signing in Philadelphia earlier this week, closes the door on most of the Nationals free agents. The only ones that remain are Adam LaRoche and Jesus Flores from the Major League team a year ago. The Nationals are still major players on LaRoche but it seems that news around him is at a stand still. Whether that is due to the holidays approaching or due to a new market evolving after the signing of Josh Hamilton to the Los Angeles Angels and the trade of Kendrys Morales to the Seattle Mariners, no one knows.

Oct 12, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Edwin Jackson (33) throws during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals of game five of the 2012 NLDS at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

Jackson didn’t pitch badly, but he didn’t make enough of an impression to get a qualifying offer from the Nationals and has become a free agent and will not bring back compensation for the Nationals should he sign elsewhere.

2012 Prediction (ZiPS): 11-9, 3.79 ERA, 30 starts, 199.2 IP, 58/151 BB/K
2012 Actual: 10-11, 4.03 ERA, 31 starts, 189.2 IP, 58/168 BB/K

Jackson didn’t really perform that badly, but the thing is is that he was just average. Now, Jackson didn’t come with huge expectations. He was supposed to slide in to the bottom of the rotation. The problem was, when Stephen Strasburg was sat out of the playoffs, that made Jackson the No. 3 starter instead of the No. 4. Jackson was not a No. 3 pitcher this season. Will he make money this offseason as a free agent? That was his gamble by taking a one year deal last year and in a weak market, he will probably get his big pay day. But for the Nationals, Jackson’s salary and role just don’t mesh long term. The team now knows what they have in Ross Detwiler and I think the Nationals will look for guys to fill out depth more than making a splash in the pitching rotation.

Season Highlight: Jackson’s best game as a National was in his second start of the season April 14 against Cincinnati. Jackson pitched a complete game allowing just two hits, one earned run, 1 BB, 9 K and a HBP. When your highlight comes that early, it isn’t really a good sign. Jackson never got to that level again. He had a couple of other games with double-digit strike outs and did win 10 games so he didn’t pitch that badly, but had two starts where he allowed eight earned runs, so with the really good came the really bad.

Previous Reviews:
Xavier Nady
Chien Ming Wang
Mark DeRosa
Henry Rodriguez
Carlos Maldonado
Brad Lidge
Ryan Mattheus
Ryan Perry
Rick Ankiel
Jesus Flores
Sandy Leon
Corey Brown
Christian Garcia
Jhonatan Solano
Mike Morse
Zach Duke
Tom Gorzelanny
Chad Tracy
Mike Gonzalez
John Lannan
Kurt Suzuki
Drew Storen
Wilson Ramos
Tyler Moore
Steve Lombardozzi
Jayson Werth
Craig Stammen
Tyler Clippard
Roger Bernadina
Sean Burnett
Ross Detwiler
Adam LaRoche
Edwin Jackson
Danny Espinosa
Ryan Zimmerman
Jordan Zimmermann
Stephen Strasburg
Bryce Harper
Gio Gonzalez

Oct 12, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo on the field before game five of the 2012 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

Pending Free Agents:

The Nationals have a few impending free agents, most notable among them first baseman Adam LaRoche, pitcher Edwin Jackson, and lefty reliever Sean Burnett, each of whom was a notable contributor to this team.

Burnett was a solid back-end bullpen arm this season, compiling a 2.38 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched. He has a $3.5 million mutual option for the 2013 season, but is likely to decline his side in search of a multi-year payday. The Nationals have the money to re-sign him, but if he prices himself out of what the Nationals are willing to pay, the team may turn to the free agent market or the minor leagues to find his replacement.

Jackson was signed for one year and $10 million this offseason, and pitched as was expected, going 10-11 with a 4.03 ERA. Jackson has stated that he would like to return for next season, but given his stated desire for a multiyear deal and his unimpressive playoff performance, it remains to be seen whether the team would want him back. If Jackson does not return, John Lannan could return to the rotation and take his place, or the team could find a free-agent replacement, such as another Nat whose contract is up after this season, Chien-Ming Wang.

LaRoche is the biggest name among those three, as his 33 home runs and 100 RBI led the team this year. He has a mutual option for $10 million this year, but is likely to decline it and search for a bigger payday on the open market. However, reports indicate that LaRoche and the team have begun negotiations on a new contract, so it is more likely than not that LaRoche will be back in D.C. next year. If LaRoche leaves, the team could start Tyler Moore at first, but would likely move Michael Morse to first and attempt to find a center fielder in a fairly deep free agent class for them.

Potential Free Agent and Trade Targets:

If any of the aforementioned players leave, or if the team simply wants an upgrade at any position, there are a few players who could be available this offseason for the right price.

Shaun Marcum pitched fairly well for the Brewers this season, with a 3.70 ERA in 124 innings as he battled injuries. This season was Marcum’s worst since 2007, and as such he could likely be had for relatively cheap, perhaps cheaper than Jackson. He will be 31 in 2013, two years older than Jackson, but his career ERA is more than half a run lower while they average a similar number of innings pitched per year. However, something to note is that he has a 14.90 ERA in three career playoff starts. Other starting pitching targets could be Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez, Oakland’s Brandon McCarthy, or, if the team wanted to really open the checkbook, St. Louis’s Kyle Lohse or LA’s Zack Greinke. The Nationals have liked Greinke in the past, and almost acquired him in a trade with Kansas City in 2010 for Drew Storen, Jordan Zimmermann, and Danny Espinosa, a deal that fell through because Greinke vetoed it, saying that the Nationals were not consistent winners. Potential trade candidates could include Chicago’s Matt Garza and Miami’s Josh Johnson.

September 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Bourn (24) slides into third safely before the tag by Washington Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond (20) in the seventh inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

If Adam LaRoche leaves, the free agent options at first base are limited, to say the least. The only viable starter is Carlos Lee, so the Nationals’ plan would likely be to move Morse to first base and leave a gap in the outfield for either a true, leadoff-hitting center fielder, or a power-hitting corner outfielder, leaving Bryce Harper to man the other spot. If the Nationals decide to add a center fielder, Atlanta CF Michael Bourn would be the clear number one choice. Bourn fits the mold exactly, as he hit .272 and stole 42 bases this year while playing Gold Glove defense. He will be expensive, and turns 30 in December, but he still plays at a high level and the Nats have money to blow. Additionally, signing Bourn away from Atlanta deals a heavy blow to one of the Nats’ biggest divisional rivals. The other premier free agent CFs are Tampa Bay’s B.J. Upton, long rumored to be a Nationals target, and former Phillie Shane Victorino. Trade targets could include Minnesota’s Denard Span or Ben Revere.

If the Nationals decide to add a corner outfielder, the options look to be quite expensive. Former AL MVP and Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton will likely be the highest-paid free agent this offseason, potentially at upwards of $25 million a year for 5+ years, numbers the Nationals may not be willing to accept. Yankee Nick Swisher is a good hitter with passable defense in left, but will turn 32 next month, has not exceeded 3.5 WAR since 2007, and is reportedly looking for “Jayson Werth money”, despite having 1.8 fewer WAR this season than Werth did in his contract year. The infamous Melky Cabrera will likely be cheap, given his bust for performance-enhancing drugs, but that revelation means that Cabrera will likely not play as well again as he did for the beginning of this year. These in-demand players, along with a thin trade market for corner OFs, mean that adding any OF who doesn’t play center this offseason is unlikely.

The reliever market is never thin, but big-money relievers, usually former closers, tend not to pan out. Instead of spending a lot on a free agent former closer like Fernando Rodney, the Nationals would be better served to find an effective middle reliever, and hopefully a lefty to match the potential departure of Burnett, such as Tampa’s J.P. Howell.

The Nationals have lots of decisions to make as they move into the offseason. But with so many options to choose from, it will be interesting to see what direction the team takes.