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rumors that a 3-team deal is all but done. Granderson to Yanks. Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson to D-Backs. Matt Scherzer (sp) and prospects to Tigers.

Cashman is dismantling Theo right now. There, I said it.

I heard it is done too.

I'm getting players and teams confused in the OP, but Granderson to Yanks for sure. Austin Jackson and Phil Coke to Tigers. Max Scherzer to Tigers. Edwin Jackson to D-Backs. That's the gist anyway..

To Yankees - Granderson
To Dbacks - Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy
To Tigers - Scherzer, Coke, and Austin Jackson


The New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Detroit Tigers are on the verge of the first major trade of baseball's winter meetings, a deal that would send Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson to New York, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

In the trade, the Diamondbacks would obtain Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, while the Tigers will pick up Max Scherzer, Phil Coke and outfield prospect Austin Jackson.

The deal would give the Yankees a starting center fielder. Starting outfielder Johnny Damon and designated hitter Hideki Matsui are both free agents.

In return, the Tigers would get a hard thrower in Scherzer and a well-regarded prospect in Austin Jackson, while the Diamondbacks get a pair of starting pitchers in Edwin Jackson and Kennedy.

Tigers gave up a helluva lot.

Granderson: 28 years old, last 3 years:
153 games/year, .277 average, 25 HR 70 RBI (which will most certainly go up in the wiffle ballpark), 19 SB, 15 triples.

Edwin Jackson: 25 years old, last 2 years:
14-10, 3.99, 200 IP/year, in the AL.

claver2010 {l Wrote}:
Edwin Jackson: 25 years old, last 2 years:
14-10, 3.99, 200 IP/year, in the AL.

I need to remember Edwin Jackson when fantasy baseball comes around. Those numbers will improve in the NL, and he should be easily gettable.

Has this deal been confirmed? I just saw ESPN reporting that the teams couldn't reach a final agreement.

claver2010 {l Wrote}:Tigers gave up a helluva lot.

Well considering half the signs in their ballpark say WE SUPPORT OUR AUTO COMPANIES and the other half are of those same auto companies who aren't even paying the sponsorship agreements....I'd say they trying to unload granderson and can't even afford Jackson's arbitration.

Look at Jackson's post All Star break splits. The Tigers are selling high, and getting lots of cost-controlled years (22) of good young players in return. If they want to unload more salary, I wish my Orioles would take M Cabrera off of their hands.

Yankees outfield is still.... feh..

Granderson has upside from that great season, but can he comeback?

Whatever, the Sox got Marco Scutaro.

For a guy who can't field or hit for average (and is very overrated in fantasy), it's not a bad pick up.

*fantasy baseball that is

cvilleagle {l Wrote}:

claver2010 {l Wrote}:
Edwin Jackson: 25 years old, last 2 years:
14-10, 3.99, 200 IP/year, in the AL.

I need to remember Edwin Jackson when fantasy baseball comes around. Those numbers will improve in the NL, and he should be easily gettable.

I took him in the 8th round last year. He won't be overlooked.

(a) Wasn't Austin Jackson being billed by the Yanks as the second-coming of Babe Ruth? Seems like a lot to be giving up for an average centerfielder.

(b) Am I the only one who thinks that Max Scherzer is awesome? If Austin Jackson turns out to be anything, I really like what the Tigers are getting. I don't remotely understand the deal from Arizona's perspective. Last year, Edwin Jackson was traded to the Tigers from the Devil Rays for a bag of balls. Furthermore, Ian Kennedy is absolute garbage.

I like Granderson as a CF, so if that's where he plays, then this is a nice trade. If he is slated to play corner OF, then this is a questionable move. Curtis Granderson hit .183 against lefties with a .484 OPS, numbers that don't fit the mold of a corner OF. Those numbers will surely go up now that he's out of Comerica, but he is moving to a much tougher division.

In any event, trades are fun to talk about. I like baseball.

Granderson is YBW --Year before Walk Player?

Its a done deal now.

As a Yankee fan with a real disdain for most of Cashman's trades, this makes a lot of sense to me. Kennedy is trash- knowing that he won't start another game is addition by subtraction in and of itself. Coke is a nice lefty to have in the pen that needs to be replaced, but he was very up and down- Marte's outrageous postseason probably made him more expendable. As for Jackson: looking at his size, skills and stats, the player he was most likely to turn into was, assuming he pans out...Curtis Granderson. Take a look at his home/road splits.

scherzer is the best player in this trade and will make a crazy good 1-2 punch with verlander. throws 97+ with nice movement. not a bad trade at all considering they also get jackson who is obviously a hyped up yankees prospect but could stilll be very serviceable. surprising arizona moved scherzer for just edwin jackson and the body of ian kennedy, not sure what they were thinking.

(b) Am I the only one who thinks that Max Scherzer is awesome? [/quote]


No. Max Scherzer is awesome. A top 3 rotation of Verlander, Porcello (who is still only 21), and Scherzer could be incredible, and in a division that looks ready to lose Mauer and Morneau in the next two seasons, the Tigers have certainly staked their claim as the most well-positioned team for the next 5 years. Having Jackson in the fold also makes any Miguel Cabrera trade easier to swallow, and allows the Tigers to really squeeze potential suitors (ie, the Red Sox) into coughing up more pitching talent in any deal.

Granderson is one of those guys where the more you look at his stats (sorry Teddy), the less impressive a player he really is. (As a corner OF, which seems to be his most lilely destination)

Granderson will hit 35+ HR in Yankee Stadium next year. I know the Red Sox roll their eyes at meaningless stats like HR and RBI, but the fact remains that the Yankees leadoff hitter will hit 35 hr, a boat load of doubles, and score 120+ runs. He's pure gold as a leadoff hitter in this Yankee lineup. And he'll play good defense, steal some bases, and from what I hear from my Tigers fans, he's a very popular guy. Never in trouble, respects the game, and plays hard.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not happy.

I usually hate when the Yanks trade away prospects, but I like this deal. Jackson hit 4 hrs last year. As noted above, his ceiling is probably being another Granderson. Kennedy is damaged goods with 4th starter upside and Coke is just another lefty reliever. Good trade for the Yanks. Provided, however, as convict said, they stick Granderson in CF and not LF. Melky Cabrera stinks and should not be starting. They need to sign Damon or find another LF and move Melky to the 4th OF role.

This is a decent trade for the Yankees. They upgraded. But their outfield still stinks.

auggiebc {l Wrote}:Granderson will hit 35+ HR in Yankee Stadium next year. I know the Red Sox roll their eyes at meaningless stats like HR and RBI, but the fact remains that the Yankees leadoff hitter will hit 35 hr, a boat load of doubles, and score 120+ runs. He's pure gold as a leadoff hitter in this Yankee lineup. And he'll play good defense, steal some bases, and from what I hear from my Tigers fans, he's a very popular guy. Never in trouble, respects the game, and plays hard.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not happy.

Have an OBP of .327... hit .249... strike out 150 times... basically be Preston Wilson. Pure gold for the Yankee lineup would be a guy who gets on base all the time so that Rodriguez and Leigh have people to drive in. He would be a terrible leadoff hitter.

Like I said, his numbers are acceptable from a CF, but unacceptable from a LF.

he won't bat .249 this year. leadoff or not, you can slot this guy in anywhere. bat him 2nd. bat him 5th. bat him last. doesn't matter.

I know nothing about Austin Jackson... I just know that when Yankee talking heads would talk about they would bow in deference and speak in hushed voices.

Personally, I think the Yanks overhype every single one of their prospects. I can't recall them trading away one that they really lived to regret. I think you have to go back to Jay Buhner. After that you have guys like Brandon Phillips, Mike Lowell and Eric Milton. Ain't nothing to really get excited about. What I don't understand is how the media-types (Gammons) get suckered in every time by the Yanks' spin. I further don't understand why anyone would ever trade with the Yanks when prospects are involved. But, good for the Yanks. They're the smart ones abusing the system.

What I am perplexed by is Arizona doing this deal. They downgraded in the Edwin Jackson/Max Scherzer swap. Ian Kennedy (who is the WORST) is waiver fodder. I don't have a clue why they would do this deal.

buconvict {l Wrote}:

auggiebc {l Wrote}:Granderson will hit 35+ HR in Yankee Stadium next year. I know the Red Sox roll their eyes at meaningless stats like HR and RBI, but the fact remains that the Yankees leadoff hitter will hit 35 hr, a boat load of doubles, and score 120+ runs. He's pure gold as a leadoff hitter in this Yankee lineup. And he'll play good defense, steal some bases, and from what I hear from my Tigers fans, he's a very popular guy. Never in trouble, respects the game, and plays hard.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not happy.

Have an OBP of .327... hit .249... strike out 150 times... basically be Preston Wilson. Pure gold for the Yankee lineup would be a guy who gets on base all the time so that Rodriguez and Leigh have people to drive in. He would be a terrible leadoff hitter.

Like I said, his numbers are acceptable from a CF, but unacceptable from a LF.

1. I'm certain that he'll play CF
2. You are pointing to last year only, while ignoring 2007 and 2008.
3. Even accepting 2009 as what can be expected of him, as I said earlier, look at the splits.

Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Home 79 77 346 309 42 71 11 4 10 34 7 2 35 66 .230 .307 .388 .696
Away 81 78 364 322 49 86 12 4 20 37 13 4 37 75 .267 .345 .516 .861

Now factor in that he is going from a ballpark that absolutely killed him to one that played like a bandbox for lefties all year.

As a scout said to ESPN this morning "he is going to loft a lot of flyballs that were easy outs in Comerica over the right field fence in Yankee Stadium. He has a swing that was tailor made for that ballpark." He is also going to see much better pitches with his surrounding line up.

NY Post reports Granderson will definitely play centerfield and that a Johnny Damon re-up is almost a done deal.

EagleNYC {l Wrote}:

buconvict {l Wrote}:

auggiebc {l Wrote}:Granderson will hit 35+ HR in Yankee Stadium next year. I know the Red Sox roll their eyes at meaningless stats like HR and RBI, but the fact remains that the Yankees leadoff hitter will hit 35 hr, a boat load of doubles, and score 120+ runs. He's pure gold as a leadoff hitter in this Yankee lineup. And he'll play good defense, steal some bases, and from what I hear from my Tigers fans, he's a very popular guy. Never in trouble, respects the game, and plays hard.

As a Red Sox fan, I'm not happy.

Have an OBP of .327... hit .249... strike out 150 times... basically be Preston Wilson. Pure gold for the Yankee lineup would be a guy who gets on base all the time so that Rodriguez and Leigh have people to drive in. He would be a terrible leadoff hitter.

Like I said, his numbers are acceptable from a CF, but unacceptable from a LF.

1. I'm certain that he'll play CF
2. You are pointing to last year only, while ignoring 2007 and 2008.
3. Even accepting 2009 as what can be expected of him, as I said earlier, look at the splits.

Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Home 79 77 346 309 42 71 11 4 10 34 7 2 35 66 .230 .307 .388 .696
Away 81 78 364 322 49 86 12 4 20 37 13 4 37 75 .267 .345 .516 .861

Now factor in that he is going from a ballpark that absolutely killed him to one that played like a bandbox for lefties all year.

You're certain? I had no idea that Brian Cashman/Joe Girardi was a member of EO. So Brian/Joe, do you plan on benching Cabrera? Or trading him?

Those splits are pretty similar except for HR and BA, which makes almost no sense when you favctor in the added free space for a batted ball to fall in for a hit at Comerica. HRs is obvious.

auggiebc {l Wrote}:he won't bat .249 this year. leadoff or not, you can slot this guy in anywhere. bat him 2nd. bat him 5th. bat him last. doesn't matter.

Why won't he hit .249? His career has been regressing to a mean for the past 3 seasons.

Batting him 6th would be fine. Ninth would be fine. Leadoff would be a disaster.

Granderson's a glorified platoon player. He has plus speed and plus defense but he is beyond abysmal hitting lefties. I think he's had an OPS over .700 once and twice has been under .500 against lefties. Now he has only gotten regular ABs against lefties for two years but those numbers are beyond abysmal. Yankee Stadium should help him but he's going to be at the bottom of the order rather than the top. His OBP is average and he strikes out too much to be a top of the order guy.

Having said that, it's a good trade for the Yankees. Granderson is better than Cabrera so they are either going to bench him or trade him for bullpen help, as their bullpen is incredibly thin right now. I like it even more for the Tigers because Scherzer is awesome and cost controlled. I really have no idea what Arizona is doing. They give up some cost-controlled guys for one guy who had an incredible first half but really petered off in the second half.