Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Thought on the Granderson Trade

The inclusion of Austin Jackson in a trade for Detroit's Curtis Granderson troubled me a bit when I first read it. If the Yankees are serious about making a run at Roy Halladay, why would they be looking to get rid of one of their best prospects prior to Halladay moving anywhere? I have read that the Jays are more interested in Montero, and that they are looking for cheap MLB ready players who will be under control for a few years. Neither AJax or Montero are MLB ready yet. I wonder if the Jays haven't preliminarily expressed interest in some other players besides one of the pitchers (Joba or Hughes). Maybe a Melky is in the conversation. Not sure, but I don't see why else the Yankees would consider moving AJax for an outfield position they don't claim is a priority if the Jays might trade a starting pitcher (a stated priority) for a package including said prospect.

5 comments:

Fernando Alejandro said...

Jon Heyman tweeted that the deal has gone through. I hope it wasn't the deal that was proposed earlier, because if it is, we got shafted.

Jon Roberts said...

When I first saw the headline stuff, my thought was "sweet Granderson and Edwin Jackson for those players and salary relief". That seemed fair. The actual trade seems like a sack of you know what for the Yankees. I smell Big Stein's involvement. Giving up the farm for an intriguing player with obvious holes in his game and only a week after meeting with him.

The Dbacks seem to come out well. E. Jackson would haved looked really nice in the third spot or maybe two in the rotation. I guess the Yankees now have potential 30hr guy batting 8th. I'm actually a fan of Granderson just not his splits. I think they are giving up too much.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I'm with you Jon. The only x factor is whether AJax turns into a legit major leaguer (and a legit AL East major leaguer). If no, good move. If yes, really monstrously bad move.

Coke and Kennedy not a big deal to me. Coke was at best a lefty specialist (nothing you can't part with), and Kennedy was an iffy starter at best on an AL East team. Consider that the DBacks will use him (or try to) as a back end of the rotation guy, and they play in the NL West. A back end NL West guy does not belong at any end of an AL East pitching rotation. This is a better opportunity for Kennedy. It may also be for Jackson, who may very well be the Tigers' starting center fielder come April.

Jon Roberts said...

Mostly I'm disappointed with not landing Jackson back. Get him and resign Andy and go to war. I really like Granderson D. If Melky ends up in left it's a pretty good outfield. I still think a two year deal for Damon makes sense. Move Swish to dh and that's a solid lineup. I think Granderson's D outweighs his lefty numbers considering his position. I'm feeling better about it as I think about it more.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

I'm not as sold on the importance of upgrading our outfield defensively, and I am now concerned about who bats second behind Jeter.

I like Granderson, especially if we still have Damon, but I'm just not sure yet.