Trading Curtis Granderson: I don't like it one bit
OK. I've given it a few days to think about it. And I've gone through the grieving process in reverse direction.
I was prepared to see Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson traded at the Winter Meetings.
Really, I was.
I was even interested to see what the Tigers could get in return for the two players, because we were assured they were not going to be given away cheap.
Granderson to the Yankees? Maybe for Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson, and hopefully more.
Is that asking price too high or unreasonable? Tough. Granderson was an important, franchise player for the club. He was an extremely important player for the fans. If you can't get back an incredible package for him, you don't move him.
Period.
So if Granderson was traded, I expected to find some excitement in return.
Right name, wrong Phil.
Because I'm sorry, but Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth and Austin Jackson are not an exciting prospect package to receive for the face of your franchise (and one of the best center fielders in the American League, if not baseball.)
Why did I leave out Max Scherzer? Well, it is not a report verified by the Tigers, but the New York Post reported the Diamondbacks offered Scherzer for Edwin Jackson straight up.
That is a deal that you do.
Scherzer was the true star of the young player package the Tigers received, not Austin Jackson. Not Coke. Not Schlereth. Those three are nice and all, but none excite me much.
So to hear the Tigers could have had Scherzer -- a pitcher I expect to be better than Edwin Jackson -- and still kept Granderson or traded him for an exciting prospect package, I go from accepting the trade on baseball terms to rejecting it.
And even if it's not an accurate report, I still don't like the trade. The Tigers did not receive enough in return for Granderson. Like I said, if you think it's unreasonable I ask so much in return, tough. Detroit can keep Granderson.
The fans would certainly be happier than they are right now.
The fact is, while the more attuned baseball fan can look at this trade and see that the values may work out well in the long run, the fan who enjoys baseball enough to align themselves with the players feels betrayed today.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski just threw away all the goodwill he and the team earned from 2006 in one fell swoop.
And for what?
Did the Tigers have to make this move from a financial standpoint? I don't see why they did. Granderson's $5.5 million cost in 2010 is manageable. In 2011 and 2012, he costs a bit more, but so many bad contracts come off the Tigers' payroll that $10 million is a reasonable price to pay.
If $5.5 million is so important, let catcher Gerald Laird and relief pitcher Bobby Seay go. Those guys are not as important as a top tier center fielder, easier to replace, and the fans do not ally themselves with them as readily.
And then we have the next problem. The replacement. Austin Jackson was certainly a well-respected prospect in his own right. He was the Yankees' No. 1 prospect heading into 2009, as rated by Baseball America. But you can only hope he has a career that touches Granderson's, and you have to expect he won't. His minor-league stats have several holes in them: batting average on balls in play of .392 and just a .300 average, no power, speed that isn't burning speed.
And he was the prize position player received in return!
He's got very, very big shoes to fill. I do not envy him.
The Tigers had a bit of rebuilding to do. I accept that.
But if the return for one of your most tradable commodities is a center fielder with holes in his game and a couple of relievers, then you didn't do a very good job of rebuilding.
Dombrowski had better hope this works and the team gets back on its feet quick, or he will be chased out of Detroit by fans with pitchforks storming Comerica Park.
Actually, he probably will anyway.
Short of a World Series victory with some memorable moments by the guys traded for, I don't think this is is a trade that will be forgiven.
Certainly not by me.
