Edwin Jackson: Will He Stay with the Washington Nationals This Winter?

Edwin Jackson would like to stay with the Washington Nationals beyond this season, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. However, there is apparently a catch in that thought:

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"Anything more than one year," said Jackson about the years he would like on his contract. "I'm not sure. If the team feels they do want to keep me, we'll go from there. As far as the amount of years, it would be nice to settle down for more than one year, for sure."

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Just like last winter, Jackson will be looking for a lucrative long-term deal. Even though he is only 7-8 this season, he's carrying a 3.69 ERA and a 1.174 WHIP this year.

That strong performance should make him an attractive target this winter.

Depending on what happens to the club options of guys like James Shields, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson, this could either be a really deep free-agent class or a shallow one.

If we pretend that all of these options are exercised, the market won't be quite so deep and should be mainly focused around Jackson, Zack Greinke and Brandon McCarthy.

In the latter case, Jackson should receive plenty of long-term deals, and the Nationals will have a decision to make.

People always pay a premium for strong starting pitching, and it is highly probable that Jackson receives at least one long-term offer this offseason.

Will it be from the Nationals?

It is hard to tell that right now, but he is definitely pitching well enough to receive quite a bit of attention come winter.

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