http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/yanks-tigers-dbacks-discussed-blockbuster.html yanks get granderson arizona gets edwin jackson ian kennedy tigers get max schrezer dan slearith austin jackson phil coke
personally, not a fan of this trade. I think Austin Jackson is going to be a very good CF in this league, and I believe that Kennedy can still be a good #3 type starter.
Very good equates to a .183/.245/.239 (avg/obp/slg) split against lefties in 2009? And no, that wasn't just a fluke bad year. He is a career .210/.270/.344 career hitter against lefties. I just feel like the Yankees gave up too much. Coke, good riddance. AJax & IPK, I still viewed them as valuable assets to the Yankees in the future
Kennedy would never be a viable starter in the AL East. I'm surprised he had much value left at all. I'm not a fan of Jackson. He's a 5 tool player in the sense that he's OK at all of them. No power, solid fielder, not someone that you hold up a trade like this. Granderson could hit 30 HR's and steal 20.
I wonder if the recent drafting of Slade Heathcott has any impact on the Yankees willingness to depart with Austin Jackson. He was the Yankees first round pick in the 2009 draft, and is another "5-tool prospect". Granderson is under contract for the next 3 years with an option for a 4th year. The development of Heathcott could coincide with the contract of Granderson quite well if all goes very well. Just a thought, especially since we all know that no prospect is a sure thing and who knows if Heathcott will even succeed in the minors and even be in AAA in 4 years, its all a crapshoot
It was a down year for him average-wise for sure. However if you look at this splits after he was moved down lower in the order from leadoff he hit a lot better. Regardless you're looking at a guy who could potentially be a 30-20 hitter with above average defense for an outfield prospect who hasn't shown he can hit for power or is patient enough to draw walks. Works for me.
The one thing I hope this trade doesn't do is spell the end for Melky. Melky in left Granderson in center and Swisher in right sounds like a fine defensive outfield to me. You can live with his offense in the lineup because of Melkys ability to get timely hits and because of the fact that the Yankee lineup is stacked.
If anything this says a lot about what the FO thinks of our outfield depth in the minors - which featured a bunch of players graduating from the DR leagues and some showing lots of progress. Eduardo Sosa and Nunez all saw significant time playing in the GCL. DeAngelo Mack, Justin Milo and Neil Medchill all were standouts in the Penn league. Abraham Almonte, from all reports I read, picked up his game in the second half at Tampa. And Slade is ready to debut next year too. The fact that Colin Curtis was outstanding in AFL and didn't even sniff the 40 man says a lot about the confidence in our system. This really is Cashman saying to everyone: "lol Ajax? i aint frontin mo' weh that came from hoss"
A bit more breakdown: •The Yankees receive center fielder Curtis Granderson, who turns 29 in March. Granderson is owed $5.5MM in 2010, $8.25MM in '11, and $10MM in '12, with a $13MM club option/$2MM buyout for '13. That's $25.75MM guaranteed over the next three years. Melky Cabrera could now be expendable for the Yankees, and the Cubs are one possible suitor. •The Diamondbacks receive a pair of starting pitchers: Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. Jackson, 26, is under team control for '10 and '11 and is owed an arbitration raise on this year's $2.2MM salary. Kennedy, 25 this month, missed most of the '09 season due to surgery to remove an aneurysm near his shoulder. As far as I can tell he is under team control for another six seasons. This is the second year in a row Jackson has been traded at the Winter Meetings. •The Tigers receive four players: starter Max Scherzer, relievers Daniel Schlereth and Phil Coke, and center fielder Austin Jackson. The Tigers get five years of Scherzer, six of Schlereth, five of Coke, and six of Jackson, potentially 22 years of control in total. Scherzer, 25, and Jackson, 23 in February, are probably considered the prizes of the haul.
Outside of giving up Austin, i think its a good trade. Granderson is a speed centerfielder with very good power and he was hitting 25-30 HR in detroit with a 330 foot wall now with 314 in Yankee stadium i predict bigger numbers.
Yea but with his power and that short porch in yankee stadium, you barely get good wood on a ball its gonna go out, can never predict all these factors though.
Not on this current Yankees team he isn't. When it comes down to it, Granderson is a young power hitting CF, and although he can't hit lefties and has only a decent average, I think he will be a good fit in CF for us. It allows us to propose a "take it or leave it" deal to Damon, because if he doesn't resign, we can move Melky to LF and have Gardner on the bench for either spot (LF or CF). This trade seems to have a lot of positive aspects, and just as many negatives though, so we have to see what happens. In my opinion, there isn't much more to do. Definitely get Andy resigned. Then, figure out what to do with Damon/Matsui. From there, Cashman has to really think if he wants to trade for Halladay, or throw money at Lackey. If we get either pitcher, the fifth spot in the rotation becomes a healthy issue. I say healthy issue, because there would be much depth for it. Hughes/Joba/Wang (remember him?). All can pitch out the bullpen (well, we'd have to see with Wang ,but as a spot starter/long relief, I think he can pitch well) in that role).
^ Scherzer & AJack were nice pickups for the Tigers....considering they were trying to cut their payroll anyway.
