Courting Coveted Curtis

The first major trade of the baseball winter meetings in Indianapolis is not finalized yet. It’s still not too soon to begin discussing the three-team, seven player swap that will bring coveted centerfielder, Curtis Granderson, to the Yankees. The Detroit Tigers will give up the 28 year old along with the highly-priced starting pitcher, Edwin Jackson. Detroit sheds about $10 million in payroll by freeing the pair of stars who would be free agents in two to three years anyway. Jackson heads to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed hurling talent, Max Scherzer and his southpaw teammate, Daniel Schlereth. Jackson posted a 13-9 record last season with a 3.62 ERA. He is a very solid pitcher and an All-Star. He is not an ace because he is not a high strikeout pitcher and wears down easily. The 23 year old Schlereth made his major league debut in 2009. The lefty has a promising and buckling breaking ball despite poor command. Scherzer is a hard-throwing competitive player who should fit well into Jim Leyland’s rotation. Scherzer is the more durable of the two Diamondbacks in the exchange. The 25 year old went 9-11 in his first full season with Arizona. Scherzer does lack a quality secondary pitch so he might ultimately be relegated to the bullpen.
The Tigers pick up prospect centerfielder, Austin Jackson, out of New York’s farm system. Jackson shows potential but may never pan out to be anything near what Granderson is at the plate. The Bombers’ top prospect hit .300 in his first Triple-A season. He only crushed four long balls, however. His defense and baserunning are up to speed to compete at the major league level. But with all the great tools in Jackson’s bag, he really does not hit for power. The Yankees got more athletic and perhaps a bit younger with the move. Granderson is in the prime of his career and one of the most respected players in the game. New York parted with some core bullpen arms, but justified the swap by picking up the star outfielder. Ian Kennedy has always been a question mark as a starting pitcher but he is also ill-equipped to handle a reliever role. Kennedy’s finesse pitching and his mental game were never well suited for the American League. He should provide a stable arm and make Arizona’s back-end rotation stronger in the coming years if he remains healthy. Reliever, Phil Coke, became a mainstay as the number one lefty off the bench for the Yankees last season. He throws a decent fastball but often appeared clueless and defenseless in long relief stints. The Tigers will benefit from Coke’s ability to get left-handers out. The 27 year old held lefties to a .195 average.
In Granderson, New York inherits roughly $25 million over the next three years. They also inherit a speedy and powerful player not afraid to leap walls to make outs. He has wide outfield range and most remember him scoring the winning run in last year’s All Star game. Granderson plays with a lot of energy and makes the Yankees a better team. The upbeat outfielder is the perfect fly ball pull hitter. His bat should be productive and operate well in Yankee Stadium but the slugger is not without risk. Granderson doesn’t thrive against left-handers and had a difficult off year in 2009 with Detroit. Could it be the Tigers dealt their adored player because they considered him past his peak and on the decline? Either way, the Yankee brass got the better end of this bargain deal. New York ironically essentially reduced payroll with the signing. Granderson’s reasonable contract is a cost-effective way to reel in a predominant player, much to the wrath of Yankee haters and mirth of lovers. The consensus among Yankee fans is the trade is anything but a curtly grand deal.

Parting Points: Snow day song: “High and Dry” by Radiohead
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