Yankees, Diamondbacks, Tigers Complete 7 Player Trade

December 13, 2009

The Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers have completed a 7 player trade on Tuesday. The headliner in this trade is Detroit’s centerfielder Curtis Granderson who has is going to New York.

Detroit will get pitchers Max Scherzer, Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth, and Yankees outfield prospect Austin Jackson. The Diamondbacks may have got the best of this deal as they obtain 2 solid pitchers in Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy.

The Yankees will have to consider their options in the outfield. Current centerfielder Melky Cabrera will most likely make the transition to left field. This will force the Yanks to make decisions with both Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon for next season.

Granderson is coming off of an All-Star caliber performance in which he 30 homeruns, 71 RBI’s and 20 stolen bases. His batting average has fallen over the last few seasons, but he will still be a significant upgrade for the World Champs in center.

Edwin Jackson has already proven himself to be a solid #2 starter, and Ian Kennedy has a tremendous upside, but has been slowed by injuries over the last 2 seasons. Arizona is in perhaps the most competitive division in all of baseball, and upgrades in the pitching staff may be enough to push them past the Dodgers and Rockies in 2010.

Detroit is clearly setting themselves up for the future. Daniel Schlereth (11th pick in 2006 amateur draft) is a hard throwing lefty that will be a key addition to the Tiger bullpen. When this trade is looked back on in a few years, the key component may be Yankees prospect Austin Jackson. Jackson batted .300 with 65 RBI’s and 24 steals for triple A Scranton/ Wilks-Barre last season. He has tremendous potential, and could be a perennial All-Star in years to come.

Written by Cover The Number · Filed Under MLB

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