CHICAGO – One way or another, the Cubs were determined to add a young, impact starting pitcher this offseason.

Right-hander Edwin Jackson fit the Cubs’ requirements and boosted a starting rotation that now boasts depth. Wednesday’s announcement of Jackson’s four-year, $52 million deal provides a solid framework for the Cubs, who weren’t going to miss out on a quality starter.

General manager Jed Hoyer revealed Wednesday he and manager Dale Sveum secretly met in mid-December with Jackson in Newport Beach, Calif., the same day president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and chairman Tom Ricketts met with free-agent pitcher Anibal Sanchez in Florida. Sanchez ultimately re-signed with the Tigers for five years and $80 million, and Hoyer made clear the Cubs would not have signed both pitchers.