Is the Cubs’ Edwin Jackson beyond saving, even for Chris Bosio?

The struggles of Edwin Jackson in his time with the Chicago Cubs is well documented. The current trip to the DL is only delaying the inevitable. What are the Cubs going to do with E-Jax?

Upon the signing of Jackson, he wasn’t much more than a .500 pitcher, but was at or near 200 innings a year. Since joining the Cubs, none of that is happening. So if Chris Bosio can’t help him, is there any hope left? I believe the answer is no.

In the last three seasons, Bosio has turned around things for Paul Maholm, Scott Feldman, Jason Hammel, and Jake Arrieta. And the recent acquisition of Jacob Turner has added another possible reclamation project turnaround. So there are questions as to why Jackson can’t seem to bring it together.

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Jackson’s walk numbers are up from last season (3.0 to 3.9), and his WHIP is up as well (1.460 to 1.619). All this has led to short outings by Jackson, eliminating his value as an “innings eater”. And his record and ERA are the worst among all starters.

Bosio in this season has helped Jake Arrieta cut his walk numbers, and his results have spoken for themselves as he’s become the Cubs’ top pitcher. So is Jackson just resistant to Bosio’s help?

It could be possible, as in a spring training outing, Jackson threw only fastballs, without relaying the plan to Bosio or manager Rick Renteria. It was addressed as a non-issue, but this may be part of a deeper problem. Maybe Jackson is set in his ways as a veteran and doesn’t think he needs to make changes. His performance would say differently.

The stint on the DL has bought the Cubs some time to make  decision as to what to do. How hurt he is may be debatable as I’ve mentioned previously, but there doesn’t seem to be a definitive timeline on his return. Which may also mean his time remaining with the Cubs may not be all that definitive either.