Brian Cashman stunned the baseball world Monday night, when he revealed that he was en route to closing a deal with the Tigers and Diamondbacks that put Curtis Granderson in pinstripes. Immediately, every good Yankee fan, wraught with glee, took a moment catch their breathe. In that moment images of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Jesus Montero in another uniform started to sour their excitement over the trade. But then, moments later, when each of those fans realized that Curtis Granderson would be donning pinstripes for the miniscule price of Ian Kennedy, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson, their eager aniticipation for 2010 resumed.
After years of disappointment spurring from 200 million dollar payrolls worth of faded, broken, overpriced and arrogant stars like Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson and Carl Pavano, the Yankees' front office has been determined to extend it's recent streak of good trades and signings. Transactions that netted them C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett, Nick Swisher and a shipment of shiny, new, diamond-studded 2009 World Series rings. This latest trade for Curtis Granderson, is an eager attempt at securing a shipment of 2010 World Series rings, and a vivid illustration of how good a General Manager Brian Cashman can be when given some breathing room.
Cashman has long been booed by Yankees fans and the baseball world for his insufferable attempts at exhausting the Yankees near-infinite revenue on overpriced, underachieving and often, downright dispicable players, in meager hopes of returning the franchise to the World Series. Now that the geriatric Steinbrenner has finally quieted down, and has allowed Cashman to use the franchises' money wisely, the Yankees are looking better than ever.
The winners of the three way trade: 1st Place, Yankees, 2nd place, Tigers, last place, Diamondbacks. The Yankees landed Granderson for a package of players that certainly won't be missed in New York. Trading Ian Kennedy for anything of value is sheer brilliance by the Yankees' Brass. Kennedy barely has the stuff to pitch in Beer League softball, much less the MLB. 85 mph fastballs, rolling curveballs in the dirt, and eye-level vulcan changeups should be a challenge for the Diamondbacks to use in a rotation that needs some stability--especially when half of Kennedy's games will be played in Arizona's unforgiving dry air. Kennedy's attitude won't be missed in the Yankees clubhouse either.
Trading Phil Coke is far more painful for the 2010 Yankees than trading Ian Kennedy, but that's not saying very much. Coke was a useful and durable arm for Girardi's bullpen in 2009, and his ability to get out good lefties certainly helped the Yankees toward the World Series. But Coke's lack of a sharp breaking ball, and his low ceiling make him expendable--even if he is a durable lefty and is a gamer.
Austin Jackson, arguably the Yankees top prospect (in my view he's far behind Jesus Montero) was the blue chip Detroit needed in return for Granderson. Although Jackson's baseball intellect is sub-par--striking out far too much, walking little and exercising average baserunning abilities despite top-flight speed-- he has the tools to win a Gold Glove in center, and could hit in the realm of .275-.280 with 15 homeruns and 20 stolen bases once he gets comfortable in the majors. Frankly, it's unlikely that he'll every be more than a decent everyday center fielder.
So, for very little, the Yankees netted a very good outfielder. King Curtis does have his shortcomings however. First of all, he's coming off a year where he hit .249, and his career batting average against lefties is barely .210. He plays good defense, but isn't fabulous, and will probably spend far more time in left than in center. Still, if the Yankees can land a lefty-mashing right-handed outfielder, or make use of Melky Cabrera, then they have a relatively cheap All-Star caliber outfielder under their control for at least three seasons. Granderson's power will transfer well to Yankee stadium, so netting an outfielder that will easily hit 25-30 homers annually is worthy of a pat-on-the-back for Brian Cashman.
Second Place
The Tigers did a decent job of dumping fairly pricey players for cheaper talent, with this trade. Max Scherzer is fragile, and may end up in the bullpen, but the Tigers will have control over Scherzer for a half-decade. Max has top-tier stuff, and if he can stay healthy, he could be a cheap AJ Burnett, or a lesser Jon Papelbon.
Dan Schlereth and Phil Coke are both useful lefties in the bullpen. Both pitchers throw hard, with Coke' average fastballs at about 92 mph, and Schlereth sporting the ability to hit 97-100 mph. Dan Schlereth, the son of former NFL meathead Mark Schlereth, could be a future closer if he can harness his control. Coke is durable, and if he can avoid the long ball in his now spacious homepark, facing AL Central opponents, he could be a top-tier lefty middle reliever and palatable spot starter.
Austin Jackson won't be a star, but he will be a cheap replacement for Granderson in center. Jackson's defensive potential is far beyond that of Granderson's, but his lesser power and lackluster approach at the plate keep the possibility of his future as a 4th outfielder open. If he reaches enough of his potential, Jackson could be a top fielder with a David DeJesus bat and Curtis Granderson speed.
The Loser
The Diamonbacks made some serious mistakes this offseason. First, they traded for Aaron Heilman, an overpriced choke artist with marginal value in the pen. Then, they traded away one of their most valuable pitching talents in Max Scherzer, for a pitcher that may be on the verge of busting. Scherzer had his drawbacks, true, but his stuff gave him the ability to be a top starter or top closer--even in Arizona. Scherzer could have gotten them much more in return, and now they lost a cheap, productive arm.
Edwin Jackson has shown flashes of brilliance with his 95-96 mph fastball, but his lack of control and polish got him catapulted out of Tampa Bay. He pitched well in Detroit for the first half of 2009, and was on the fast track to a Cy Young Award when he pulled a midseason 180 and started stinking up the mound. Pitching in Arizona, and calling a bandbox his new home park should send him right back to the stat lines he produced in Tampa.
Ian Kennedy, the other arm that Arizona received in return for Scherzer has previously been touted as a top pitching prospect on par with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. He's not. I tried my best to like Kennedy after his promising 2007 debut. After all, he had a nice Irish name, a USC Pedigree and scouting reports that made him sound like the second coming of Greg Maddux or Mike Mussina. Watching him for 2+ seasons has driven this point home though, Ian Kennedy stinks, and he won't be a decent MLB starter, much less a Hall of Famer. Scouting reports claiming that Kennedy threw 92 mph fastballs were bogus, and his one above average pitch is his vulcan change which he's going to need to live off of, if he wants to survive for a few more years in the majors. Kennedy's fastball is usually clocked in the 86-88 mph range, hitting 90mph just a little bit more often than it hits 85. He has good control of the pitch when he throws it at MiLB speed, but lousy control when he dials it up to a passable MLB velocity. It's also straight. Kennedy's curveball could be passable with work, but currently it doesn't have a sharp enough break to strike out the average MLB batter.
Kennedy's control had previously been touted as plus to plus-plus, but he hasn't lived up to this aspect of his scouting reports either. When using his AAA repetoire, he does have good control, but its far too hittable. His lack of stuff forces him to over throw and pitch around every batter he faces, resulting in high pitch counts and high WHIP numbers. Overall, Kennedy has an outside shot of becoming Denny Neagle with some serious development, but its is becoming more and more likely that he's nothing more than a fringe player.
So, overall, the Yankees made a fantastic trade, while the Tigers didn't realize anything spectacular from trading Granderson and Jackson, but manage to accomplish some of their mission for 2010. The Diamondbacks are the clearcut losers here, and likely gave up one of the few promising young players they have in exchange for a pitcher that is on the verge of becoming a serious bust.
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