The Cubs officially announced the signing of the Edwin Jackson contract yesterday, the four year, $52 million deal we’ve heard about already. What we didn’t know was that the Cubs were concurrently pursuing Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson.

The deal was consummated after GM Jed Hoyer and manager Dale Sveum met with the free agent right-hander in Newport Beach, Calif., at the same time that the Cubs were courting free agent Anibal Sanchez. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and Theo Epstein met with Sanchez in Florida. Both Jackson and Sanchez fit what the Cubs were looking for — young, durable pitchers who they could build around. Epstein’s meeting with Sanchez was leaked; Hoyer’s was not.

“It’s hard to sign free agent players in general and we knew we were going to go after both guys,” Hoyer said. “We did a better job hiding our (meeting with Jackson).”

Maybe Theo’s valet is the leak? Either way, Jackson was flattered that Jed and Dale would fly all the way to California just for him.

“I figured if they were taking the time to fly out and talk to me – regardless of what happened – they definitely had a strong interest,” Jackson said. “The only thing I could control was that conversation we were having at the time. That’s all I was worried about.”

And Dale Sveum used his undeniable charm on Edwin’s soon-to-be-wife.

“From what I was told, Dale was Dale,” Jackson said. “He definitely had an influence on my fiancée. She knows a little about baseball, but she’s learning. She was like: ‘I like him, even though he didn’t say much.’ We had a good aura with those guys and it was a pretty good feeling walking out of the room.”

We’ve heard all the wondering about why Jackson would have played for so many teams already by the age of 29, but Jed Hoyer is certain it’s not because he’s a big jerkface.

“We did a lot of work on him as a teammate and it’s really positive,” Hoyer said. “The reasons for him moving around certainly weren’t because he wasn’t a good teammate or didn’t work hard. It was (more) contractual.”

Meaning, people wanted to trade him rather than worry about negotiating with Scott Boras, his former agent, for a new contract. It’s a big week for Edwin and his fiancée, as they are to be married on Saturday. And guess what? We’re all invited!