Cleveland Indians: Austin Jackson was a pleasant surprise in 2017

The Cleveland Indians received some much-needed depth from Austin Jackson in 2017, and are looking for a similar success story in 2018.

Austin Jackson only played in 85 games for the Cleveland Indians in 2017, but he did enough in that span to impress Indians fans.

To be fair, he may have also impressed the world with one of the greatest catches ever made.

Jackson was brought in last spring on an invite and made the most of his time with the team. He slashed .318/.387/.482, all above his career averages, and had 29 extra-base hits in 280 at-bats.

The depth he provided was priceless and it seemed like he did more than enough to warrant a new deal in 2018, but Jackson remains a free agent in what has been one of the slowest offseasons in recent history.

The fact he remains unsigned doesn’t really hurt or help his chances of returning. It just means he is waiting for the best offer, which is fine considering teams don’t report to Spring Training for a few weeks. And by now, Jackson has to have a few offers on the table for him.

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Some see Melvin Upton Jr’s spring invite as a potential way to replace Jackson for cheap, but it just seems like the front office is doing its due diligence once again in searching for anyone who can help the team.

It worked with Jackson last year and if it works with Upton, it doesn’t automatically mean he is Jackson’s direct replacement.

Having a veteran on the team, and one who has had a nice career like Jackson, would be valuable for several reasons.

Along with the leadership Jackson can provide, it is no secret that this Indians team has dealt with injury problems throughout the past few years. Michael Brantley remains a giant question mark, while Lonnie Chisenhall hasn’t been the healthiest of players as of late.

Add in Bradley Zimmer’s hard style of play and Brandon Guyer’s wrist issues, and love of getting beaned, and this team needs options in the outfield.

Spotrac lists Austin Jackson’s value at just over $13 million per year, so that is obviously out of the team’s price range. However, this value isn’t taking into account the way the market is falling. Jackson may not want to accept a deal that pays $4-5 million annually, but it may be all he gets this year. And with this year’s market, that estimate may even be too high.

Next: Indians Roundtable: Remaining moves to make

I doubt Jackson remains unsigned once Spring Training begins, and I do think he has a great shot to return. Whether a salary dump accompanies a potential move remains to be seen, but it would be foolish to let Jackson walk after how productive he was in a part-time role a season ago.