SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Tigers offered Edwin Jackson to the Mariners for right-handers Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley, yet were turned down. It might well be the end of trade talks between the two teams, since it’s hard to imagine Detroit taking much less for their 26-year-old right-hander. Jackson faded in a big way towards the end of last year, but he was one of the AL’s best pitchers for five months and he has the stuff to back it up. He finished 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP in his breakout season. Morrow, the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft, has spent much of the last three seasons in the majors, but he’s yet to settle into a role. He ended last year in the rotation and he turned in an encouraging September to finish with a 4.39 ERA in 69 2/3 innings. That did come with 44 walks, though. He’s 8-12 with a 3.96 ERA and a 204/128 K/BB ratio in 197 2/3 innings as a major leaguer. He’s made 15 starts and 116 relief appearances. Kelley, 25, overcame long odds to win a bullpen spot last spring and he started off his career with a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings before going down with an oblique strain. He missed two months and was just an average reliever after returning, but he should be a useful setup man for the long haul. Jackson is just two years away from free agency, which limits his trade value somewhat. He’s probably not worth four years of Morrow and five of Kelley. Morrow, though, will very likely will be a part of any deal that gets done. If the Tigers were willing to take lefty Jason Vargas or a prospect rather than Kelley, that might appeal to Seattle.
Heyman: Mariners turn down Tigers’ Jackson proposal
Published November 30, 2009 12:44 PM