MLB: Granderson to the Yankees?
The rumored house cleaning in Detroit seems to be commencing as ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the team is on the verge of trading both Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson in a three way deal involving the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In the deal the Yankees would be receiving Granderson from the Tigers while the Diamondbacks would be getting Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.
The Tigers will be getting relief pitcher Phil Coke and top outfield prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees and pitching prospects Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the D-Backs.
Granderson is the biggest name changing hands and would be expected to start in center field for they Yankees next season. There is some speculation that Granderson will be expected to hit second behind Derek Jeter in the Yankees lineup. It is hard to see how this helps the Yankees out offensively as Granderson struck out 141 times this season and has struck out at least that many times in three of the last four seasons. Not to mention his average has dropped from .302 in 2007 to just .249 last season. He is definitely an upgrade in terms of power over Melky Cabrera and is thought to be a slight defensive upgrade.
If the deal is consummated one wonders what happens to Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. One begins to wonder if the plan is to move Cabrera to left field with the team opting not to bring Matsui or Damon back. It was reported last week that the Yanks are looking to keep payroll around $175 million and with indications being that Andy Pettitte will be back next season that does not give the team a lot breathing room to maneuver without eclipsing that targeted number.
What is do is it ensures the Yankees now have bargaining power over the two veteran outfielders to offer them what they feel like and tell them to take it or leave it. Damon and/or Matsui now become luxuries in the eyes of Yankees management as opposed to necessities.
In Austin Jackson the Tigers are getting one of the Yankees top farm hands who has hit .300 or better in two of his last three seasons and has stolen 76 bases over that same time span. He has some pop in his bat but projects as a potential lead off hitter once he fully matures at the big league level.
Phil Coke appeared in 72 games as a short relief specialist for the Yankees and ending the year with 21 holds and a 4.50 ERA.
Max Scherzer is a hard throwing righty who was 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA while striking out 174 batters in 170.1 innings. Scherzer was the 11th overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft for the D-Backs and was considered their top pitching prospect.
Daniel Schlereth, the 26th pick in last year’s draft, is a hard-throwing lefty who gives the Tigers a closer of the future once he masters his control issues.
If Ian Kennedy and Brandon Webb fully recover from their respective injuries the deal potentially gives the Diamondbacks one of the deeper rotations in baseball with Webb, Dan Haren, Jackson, and Kennedy. Webb and Haren are capable of winning upwards of 18 to 20 games while Jackson could give them 13 to 15 and Kennedy showed flashes of being a quality big league pitchers before injuries took away most of the last two seasons for the 24-year old right-hander.
