With the waiver trade deadline ending today and MLB rosters set to expand on September 1st, the Chicago Cubs—one of the hottest teams in the NL central—have acquired outfielder Austin Jackson from the Seattle Mariners.
Coming off Jake Arieta’s no-hitter against the Dodgers on August 30th, the Cubs will bolster their roster with Jackson. The Mariners will get a player to be named and potentially an international bonus slot in return. The Cubs will also receive some cash along with Jackson. Chicago also has Dexter Fowler in centerfield but with Jorge Soler on the DL due to an oblique injury, adding Jackson will give skipper Joe Maddon some flexibility going forward.
While boasting a slash line of .272/.312/.387, 8 home runs, 38 RBI and 15 stolen bases over 107 games this season, he adds some pop to the rotation. Jackson was traded to the Mariners from the Detroit Tigers earlier in the season as part of a three-team David Price. This will be his third team in 13 months.
Even though the Cubs are 10.5 games out of first in the NL central they are however sitting soundly as the second wildcard team along with the Pittsburgh Pirates—another stellar NL central team. With the addition of Jackson the Cubs are hopeful to stay put in the wild card so they can have a shot at the World Series, which they haven’t seen the likes of in over 100 years.