* Editor’s Note: The one year deal is reportedly for a total of $11 Million. Jackson will receive $9 Million in 2012 and the remaining $2 Million in 2013.

So, what exactly does Jackson bring to Washington? I think USA Today’s Steve Gardner phrased it perfectly by saying, “Jackson may be just average, but there’s value in that.”  He’s exactly right. Take a look at what some above-average pitchers went for on the trade market this offseason. In fact, just zero in on the Gio Gonzalez trade. Gonzalez cost Washington 4 top prospects (A.J. Cole, Tommy Milone, Brad Peacock, and Derek Norris), two of which cracked the bigs last year.  Let’s just say an “average” pitcher is worth about half of that. That’s still giving up an MLB-ready prospect, along with a promising youngster who still has all the potential in the world. So even if the deal is worth $12 million, that’s still a bargain. Another way to phrase this is that it’s just money. At the end of the day, you’d rather lose a bit of cash (especially with Mr. Moneybags Ted Lerner as your boss) than lose two guys who could really help you out 2 or 3 years from now.

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Image courtesy: Associated Press

Most Nationals blogs have already dissected and discussed the addition of Gonzalez to the projected starting rotation – we did this over a month ago when the deal was completed – but the press conference served as a great excuse (and opportunity) to divert discussions back to the current roster after yesterday’s surprising decision by Prince Fielder to sign with Detroit. The press conference itself wasn’t televised (from what I’ve been told) but the hard working beat writers for this team – specifically Mark Zuckerman, Adam Kilgore, Bill Ladson, and Pete Kerzel – have shared a number of quotes and thoughts from the afternoon. All of the following quotes have been passed along from those four, unless otherwise noted.

Kilgore also reported two additional details. Gonzalez’s new contract does not include any no-trade protection. Presumably that won’t become much of a concern moving forward as I think the general consensus is that the deal should be a positive one for both sides. Also, right fielder Jayson Werth met Gonzalez at the ballpark this morning to show him around the facilities before the press conference. Good to see the team’s highest paid player taking on a semi-active leadership role.

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