Today the first trade of the MLB winter meetings was announced, and it was no little trade. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees agreed in principle to a three way mega-trade.
Here is how the trade would affect the teams involved:
Diamondbacks get:
Edwin Jackson – (13-9, 3.62 ERA 1.26 WHIP 161 Ks, 214 IP)
Ian Kennedy – (1-4, 6.03 ERA 1.68 WHIP 43Ks 59.2 IP)- Career
Diamondbacks give:
Max Scherzer – (9-11, 4.12 ERA 1.34 WHIP 174Ks 170.1 IP)
Daniel Schlereth – (1-4, 5.89 ERA 1.64 WHIP 22Ks 18.1 IP)
Tigers get:
Max Scherzer – (9-11, 4.12 ERA 1.34 WHIP 174Ks 170.1 IP)
Daniel Schlereth – (1-4, 5.89 ERA 1.64 WHIP 22Ks 18.1 IP)
Austin Jackson – (.300 BA, 4 HR, 65 RBIs, 123 Ks, 24 SB, .354 OBP)- Minors
Phil Coke – (4-3, 4.50 ERA 1.07 WHIP 49Ks 60 IP)
Tigers give:
Curtis Granderson – (.249 BA, 30 HR, 71 RBIs, 141 Ks, 20 SB, .327 OBP)
Edwin Jackson – (13-9, 3.62 ERA 1.26 WHIP 161 Ks, 214 IP)
Yankees get:
Curtis Granderson – (.249 BA, 30 HR, 71 RBIs, 141 Ks, 20 SB, .327 OBP)
Yankees give:
Ian Kennedy – (1-4, 6.03 ERA 1.68 WHIP 43Ks 59.2 IP)- Career
Austin Jackson – (.300 BA, 4 HR, 65 RBIs, 123 Ks, 24 SB, .354 OBP)- Minors
Phil Coke – (4-3, 4.50 ERA 1.07 WHIP 49Ks 60 IP)
Looking at this trade, it is clear the Tigers win, the Yankees lose and the Diamondbacks break-even.
The Yankees are giving up their best left-handed reliever, their #1 prospect and an injury prone young pitcher with upside. The Yankees get in return an outfielder who can’t hit. Granderson’s batting average has been on a steep decline since he had a career year in 2007 (.240 as a rookie in ’04, .272 in ’05, .260 in ’06, .302 in ’07, .280 in ’08 and .249 in ’09). Yes, he hit 30 homers in 2009, but his previous career high was 23 in ’07 and the Yankees have plenty of power already. What the Yankees need is a high on base guy that can steal a base and play some defense in the outfield. Granderson is a good fielder, but they suffer with him at the plate. He stole 20 bases in 2009, but Jackson stole 24 in the minors and has much more upside. The worst part is that Granderson hit a measly .183 against left-handed pitching and for his career has never been able to hit left-handed pitching.
The Tigers win because they get plenty of youth with tremendous upside:
Austin Jackson, as mention previously is the Yankees #1 prospect and is only 22 years old
Schlereth is a 23 year old lefty
Phil Coke is a 27 year old lefty
Scherzer is 25 year old righty
I am high on Scherzer and think that he will be a star in the future, after-all last season was his first full season in the MLB. His 9-11 record is misinforming because he was on such a bad team.
Edwin Jackson finally lived up to his tremendous hype and I think trading him after his career year was a brilliant move by the Tigers. He has not proven in the past that he can pitch consistently well and I think he might fall back to his career 4.66 ERA in the near future. He doesn’t have that blow you away stuff that some of the league’s best pitchers have.
Overall, I don’t see this trade as a way for the Yankees to improve their chances to repeat as World Champions next season. In fact, the Yankees now need to find a solid lefty for the bullpen, because Marte hasn’t been cutting it for them. Yes, the Yankees bullpen is still solid if they keep Hughes and Chamberlain in it, but they will need to replace their go to lefty (Coke).
Good job Tigers, and Yankees I am not sure what you were thinking.
Alright… I disagree with you on this one. The Yankees WON along with the Tigers! D-backs lost big time. The Yankees get a proven star player in Granderson (the only player in the deal with a substantial stable career to bet on in the future) who brings a lot of energy to the clubhouse along with his ability to run and hit for power. All they give up is a young starter who is just average and a prospect. Although Jackson is a promising player, we’ve all seen plenty of “promising” players fall through and never materialize. He doesn’t have the 5 year guarantee that Granderson brings to the table. D-backs lose here because Edwin Jackson has a very high probability of falling back into his pre-2009 form. An ERA in the 4’s is likely (he fell apart at the end of the season last year too). Tigers did build a good foundation with this trade, and that, along with freeing up salary, is exactly what they wanted to do this off season.
Chet,
You make some good points about promising players falling through, but I think the Yankees handled Jackson in the best possible way to ensure that he doesn’t bust in the MLB. The Yankees could have rushed him up to the Majors, but instead they left him to develop in the minors. They did not even call him up during September call-ups, when he was clearly deserving.
I disagree about Granderson. The only guarantee that Granderson brings to the table is that he will strike out a lot and that he won’t be able to hit left handed pitching. Since his career year in 2007, his triples have dropped each year, his batting average has dropped each year, and his slugging has dropped each year. He has never had two consecutive star seasons and his speed is over-rated (in his 4 full seasons in the MLB his stolen bases have been 8,26,12,20- very inconsistent). The Yankees needed a starting pitcher or a high on base .300 hitting outfielder.
Dear concerned commenter,
I have to agree with MikesPickz on this one. The Yankees got another Nick Swisher. AKA- Another person to bat 8th in the lineup and play mediocre defense. If the Yankees goal this off-season was to improve their outfield then this is not the direction to go. They need someone who can get on base and fill the void at the top of the lineup that will inevitably be left by the departure of Johnny Damon. The Yankees also lost their most reliable left handed bullpen arm and will have to replace him with Marte. As far as the D-backs go, I don’t think they really lost nor won. They traded away two prospects for two different ones. Scherzer and Edwin Jackson both have about the same upside. I like the addition of the arms the Tigers have acquired and think the trade will work out the best for them! For my further thoughts on this trade be sure to visit NumberOneBaseball.com and follow us on Twitter @Number1baseball