UPDATE 1:37 PM:Shit. Granderson’s medical records sent to Yanks.
UPDATE 1:20 PM: We may know soon enough (or too soon if you ask me). Ed Price says the Tigers are waiting for the Yankees to sign off on 3-way deal and a decision is expected by 2pm. Rosenthal says one of the lefties (Coke or Dunn) is out of the original deal. Joel Sherman has more on the framework of a proposed deal where the Tigers would get Schereth, Scherzer, A Jackson, and one other pitcher.
UPDATE 12:33 PM: There’s way too much smoke for their not to be fire unless everybody is just getting their information from each other. Heyman just tweeted that a direct Yankees/Tigers deal would involve Granderson, Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, and Phil Coke. That’s not enough in my mind for Granderson – especially given his very reasonable contract and the fact the Tigers don’t HAVE to trade him. Another tweet and its a 3 way where the Tigers get Scherleth, Scherzer, A Jackson, and Coke. A better haul to be sure. Everybody (ESPN, SI, Fox) is saying things that are way too similar here. Olney has info in the ESPN live tracker that the Tigers are the ones who reignited talks. I hate the idea of the Tigers compromising.
UPDATE 11:28 AM:Jon Morosi notes that the Tigers are interested in Angels centerfield prospect Peter Bourjous. Bourjous posted a 281/354/423 line as a 22 year old at AA…Mark Feisand thinks the talks of Granderson to the Yankees aren’t dead, but it wouldn’t be for the same set of prospects as originally reported and throws in that the Mariners are expected to make a Grandy push. He also says the Tigers may be caving on their price for Granderson (NO!)…Jon Heyman says the talks are being resuscitated as well.
While it seems that the blockbuster Yankees-Diamondbacks-Tigers trade may be a long shot at this point, the Tigers will likely still continue to be active on this front. I’d still say that a Curtis Granderson trade is a long shot, but an Edwin Jackson deal seems likely. We’ll keep track of the buzz here.
As of 10:30 this morning, various sources are reporting that the blockbuster is dormant. The Yankees don’t like the prospect cost and various reports say the Tigers aren’t thrilled with their take either. Phil Rogers tweets that there is no movement on the Cubs front for Granderson either.
Image credit: The US Army on flickr. As an aside, for all the talk of Granderson’s community service (which is warranted), Jackson is very active when it comes to working with soldiers and making appearances as well. The above photo was taken at Fort Hood this November.
DD said : “I would also not be shocked if I sat here [later in the week] and told you that nothing did happen.”
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091207&content_id=7771584&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Why is DD so set on dealy Grandy? Yes, he is extremely tradeable, but I’d hate to see Robertson’s and Willis’ contracts end up costing the Tigers Granderson.
They look pretty eager to trade Granderson, unfortunately. If it must be so, please, DD, don’t sell low.
That second trade propsal is better, but I don’t know much about Austin Jackon other than he’s very “toolsy” but the production hasn’t been there. His minor league stats aren’t overwhelming, he walks a decent amount but not great and doesn’t have a ton of power.
Does anyone know anything? Is he another overhyped Yankee prospect? The other guys seem to be bullpen guys with the exception of Scherzer who looks very promising (can he stay healthy?).
Maybe I’m overvaluing Granderson, but this doesn’t seem like a lot for our everyday CF that comes at a reasonable cost.
I’m with you, Bilfer, in your 12:33 comments.
The Tigers better be SURE that Granderson isn’t going to get southpaws figured out…if he goes to NY and becomes a legend, it will be Smoltz whining by a factor of one thousand.
While there are criticisms of Granderson’s game, Curtis has the makeup to be a Trammell/Kaline type of Tiger and its beyond me as to why they feel they have to move him.
Granderson did plenty fine against LHP in 2008. He’s proven he is at least capable of hitting them respectably over the course of an entire season. Sure he’s not good at it in general, but with proper batting instruction he can make huge strides in that area and achieve more consistency in the higher bracket. He had a .260 batting average compared to only .180 this year. The Yankees probably feel that they have a qualified batting instructor that will help him achieve his true potential.
One thing’s for sure, Grandy can’t play at his optimal efficiency until he learns to make better swinging decisions first and foremost, and that is a simple thing to fix, all you have to do is instruct him and then get on the same page. The Tigers didn’t make any attempt to do that last year. If they did then you wouldn’t have seen him swing in illogical situations. Our deficiency in managing him will become a bonus gain to whoever acquires him, if they manage/instruct him for optimal output.
It’s not smoke that I’m smelling, it’s indigestion. All these fans blaming Magglio Ordonez on WDFN makes me want to vomit.
I’m hoping it just seems like we are getting the butt-end of this deal as opposed to ACTUALLY getting the butt-end of this deal.
From reading the descriptions of Jackson online I don’t think calling him “toolsy” is really that fair. Yeah, he seems to do a little of everything and be athletic, but one of his best characteristics, IMO, is that he’s produced at each level and earned his promotions. He seems ready to go to the big leagues….
This package sounds like a solid haul for the “all-star” duo. Scherzer for Jackson is a good deal for the franchise. Granderson for Jackson and two other quality pitching prospects is less of a good deal, but all-in-all its a strong package for a guy who should be a platoon player.
Its disappointing that the team is taking a step back in 2010, but this is a good deal for 2011 and beyond. I’m talking myself into it…
I’ll miss Granderson too (It’ll be hard not to root for him, even wearing a hated uniform) but the team’s success should come first. I’d rather win w/o Granderson than lose with him. And Tigers fans make it easy on the franchise because they seem to latch on to players pretty easily, even if they don’t deserve (see the large “we love Brandon Inge” contingent.) I think most fans will find a new selection for “whose your tiger” pretty quickly.
Polanco, Rodney, Grandy…you’ll be missed. Jackson too. Tough offseason to stomach for the fanbase, but hope for the future is bright.
I’d rather lose a little with him than lose a lot without him, which is how 2010 is shaping up.
Your 2010 Detroit Tigers: 16 left fielders and zero center fielders. Whoopee.
Does someone have DD’s cell phone number?
Does this have to happen?
Can’t Granderson be a tiger for like 20 years.
WHY….
Yeah we are about to get screwed. He’s worth more to the Yankees than he is to us, and that’s why this is happening. They Yankees are about to make a very smart move methinks.
Actually I think Schlereth , Scherzer, A Jackson, and Coke would be a good deal for the Tigers.
I agree….IF they decided they should to trade CG….this is not a bad deal at all. Max can be an absolute beast, Schlereth has Ryan Perry type value, Jackson is right on Scott Sizemore’s level for value, and even Coke might have some upside, especially if they think he can start.
I’m with you Mat. I’d rather have a WS under our belts without Grandy as opposed to losing with him on the team. I still think a WS with Grandy is more plausible than without him though. I just don’t think we have anyone that can fill his shoes which is what I would want out of a deal for someone like him. I know we are getting potential, but potential is a long way away from being proven.
EDIT: Looks like it’s official now.
Heyman tweets the deal is complete pending physicals
I like winning too.
I don’t see how this trade brings us markedly closer to winning. I get the comments about peoples’ love for Inge being out of line with his performance. But Granderson is different….he’s a great player. Plus he’s smart so I reckon he will continue to close holes in his game.
Plus I like him….that counts for me. And I would bet that counts for a lot of Tiger fans. And I like having players that play for the Tigers for a long time, especially good players.
I like him too. I’d rather he stuck with the team but he’s one of the few chips the Tigers have to get better as a franchise. It might blow up. Whenever you trade established players for prospects its risky. But trading Granderson and Jackson is the only realistic path to building the team towards a title contender. Hopefully this is a Stackhouse for Hamilton type of move.
The Yankees gave up a ton to get Granderson.
Good thing for them Granderson is worth more than a single ton.
Hate to be a devil’s advocate here, but to me, Granderson’s “name” was worth a lot more than his actual performance. As a homegrown player who’s eminently likeable, we overlook his warts — peashooter arm, strikeouts, can’t hit lefties, etc. (Of course, playing 81 games at Yankee Stadium he could hit 40+ homers…possibly batting in the No. 8/9 hole.)
This is a good move IF and its a major IF, Austin Jackson pans out. To me, he’s been a perpetually overrated prospect who’s been seemingly talked about by the New York writers forever.
It would have been a lot easier to swallow if the Tigers got back Phil Hughes.
Who knows though, my head is spinning. It’s too bad the Tigers couldn’t afford to bite the bullet one more year and let the dead money in the Robertson/Bonderman/Willis contracts expire and not have to resort to trading Grandy and EJack.
Let’s hope this is more of the Jackson for Matt Joyce trade, not the Jurrjens/Renteria swap.
Ugh…
Ugh… is right. At least we got someone named Ajax in return.
I look at the trade this way: I would have done Scherzer for EJax straight up. So is AJax, Coke, and Schlereth a good return for Curtis? Given current realities, I think it is. The starter and two relievers slot in well; the Tigers now have at most one spot in the rotation and two spots in the bullpen unaccounted for. The seven million or so saved would allow the team to pursue a middling free agent arm if necessary even with the salary problems. The numbers AJax put up in AAA at age 22 seem to describe a guy whose floor is average ML outfielder and who has the potential to be an All-Star type performer. Bill James predicted a 294/.356/.411 line for AJax next year. Moving out of Yankee Stadium certainly lowers those numbers a bit, but you’re still looking at an equivalent of Granderson’s 2009. I think this trade makes the Tigers better in 2011 without making them worse in 2010.
I totally agree that losing Curtis feels like a gut punch, but I think it’s the right move from a baseball standpoint.
With the numnber of lefties we’ve got on the roster now, I wonder if a guy like Bobby Seay gets moved? Does anyone else notice how righty dominant our every day line up is? And please don’t include Clete as a solid lefty bat. I hope against hope that Guillen is over his shoulder problems.
I feel sick. Why couldn’t Miguel have been the “name” that got moved.
Uggh.
I guess I now know what it would have been like if Trammell got traded.