In order to make money in business, you have to spend money.  Likewise, if you covet a baseball player and want to trade, you have to give up something to get something.

That something I don’t want the Yankees to give up – even for Toronto ace Roy Halladay – is promising outfielder Austin Jackson.

You may be salivating at the mouth thinking of what the Yankees can do with Halladay added to their rotation. Do it, but not at the cost of the former Georgia Tech basketball recruit that was signed to an $800,000 bonus.

I see no issue with the Yankees trading man-child Jesus Montero, not with Austin Romine, more advanced behind the plate and with a ton of power potential in his own right, in the wings.

I see no issue with trading either Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, though I deem it better to give Joba – after not being handled that well in 2009 – the possibility of a different organization.  The Yankees would keep one of the two and things would probably work out either way.

Jackson, however, is another case altogether.  The Yankees are going to need this kid, maybe quicker than anyone thinks.  Some mention the fact he hasn’t hit for power yet – only four homers at Triple-A Scranton in 2009.

Others feel he is not the prototype Yankees center fielder.  Do Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera each fit that prototype?

Jackson has the potential – there’s that word again – to be better than both Gardner and Cabrera.  He’s not as fast as Gardner, and so far hasn’t shown as much power as Cabrera, but both the way he plays the outfield and his arm are already superior.

“There’s no doubt he’s ready for the major leagues and can make all the plays a major-league outfielder can make,’’ said Mike Sarbaugh, who tangled with Jackson in the Eastern League playoffs when he managed at Akron, Cleveland’s Double-A farm team.

He can easily get a foot above an 8-foot wall to rob a batter of a home run.  He has a powerful and accurate arm that can gun down even speedy runners at home plate.

The Yankees have a lot of infield prospects, their system is loaded with both pitching and catching talent, but there is nobody in the system like Jackson.  No other outfielder has his package, his instincts for the game or his manner in the clubhouse.

You notice quickly Jackson is not intimidated by anything in the game.  He’s confident in himself, but not cocky.  He listens to both coaches and fellow teammates and is always trying to make himself better. His focus almost never deviates.

He’ll be able to play center field in Yankee Stadium easily.  There’s no doubt his power will come along as well.

Many will tell you any prospect can be traded.  Most times I agree.  Not in Jackson’s case, however.

The thought of Roy Halladay in the Yankees rotation is enticing.  It may happen.  Just don’t make Jackson part of the deal.

Jed spent 35 years in the newspaper business working as both a writer and editor, in both sports and news under tight deadline pressure. As both sports editor at the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette and a copy editor/columnist at The Times of Trenton, he made daily decisions on overall coverage and designed and produced thousands of pages and special sections. Since accepting a buyout from The Times, he has concentrated on broadening his writing and editing horizons to the medical, academic and business fields. Anyone is welcome to Google Jed to see the different places in print, on the Web and in front of the camera his professional expertise has spread to.

Jed Weisberger

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Tags: Austin Jackson, Austin Romine, Brett Gardner, Jesus Montero, Joba Chamberlain, Melky Cabrera, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays