Fox Sports reported last night that the Tigers were working on a three way block buster trade with the Yankees and Diamondbacks which apparently would have sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees and Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks. Nobody ever knows the real details of these negotiations but it was rumored that the Tigers would get starting pitcher Max Scherzer from the Diamondbacks, and outfielder Austin Jackson and pitchers Phil Coke and Mike Dunn from the Yankees.
The Yankees and Tigers reportedly nixed the deal and it's unknown whether they will continue talking. If the rumor is true, then it would have been a bad trade for the Tigers. Scherzer is a 25 year old right-hander with as much upside as Edwin Jackson (some say more) and an impressive 9.2 strikeouts per inning last year. He would also be under team control for five more years as opposed to two for Jackson. Austin Jackson is a very good center field prospect with the potential to be like Granderson in a couple of years but he's far from a sure thing.
The bad part of the deal is Coke and Dunn, two middle relievers who are really just throw-ins in a deal like this. The Tigers would need more than that. It's rumored that they wanted top Yankees pitching prospect Phil Hughes, who had a 3.03 ERA and 96 k in 86 innings as a starter and reliever last year.
There's really no sense in trading Granderson and Jackson unless they get an offer they can't refuse. Prospects are fun to think about but most of them, even very good ones, don't live up to their billing. Unless, the Tigers get the types of elite prospects they want they are likely not going to make a deal. At least , I hope that's the way they are thinking.
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Hughes & Jackson for Granderson would be crazy on the Yankees' part. While he's a very good centerfielder, the platoon split is worrisome. Even now, the report says Tigers AND Yankees were unsatisfied with this trade. It would seem 'more' in this trade would have to come from Arizona then.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's crazy. Hughes and Jackson are fine prospects but they are still prospects. When you trade a good established player for prospects, you have to get a lot in return because prospects fail so often. All you have to do is go back and look at some top prospect lists from past years and you can see that the fail rate is high. The Tigers are not in a position where they have to make a trade like the Pirates. They should not make one until they get a great return.
ReplyDeleteLee