Tigers' Granderson, Jackson Gone

The Detroit Tigers traded the ever-popular Curtis Granderson to the Yankees, and starting pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks today for a reliever and prospects. Phil Coke would come to the Tigers from the Yanks, as the Tigers desperately need an arm in the bullpen after the recent arbitration turn-down by Brandon Lyon. Detroit also gets a top-rated starting pitching prospect from Arizona in the form of Max Scherzer, and a future replacement in center-field for Granderson in Austin Jackson from New York. The Diamondbacks also get Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.

As for my opinion, this is bound to be a mostly unpopular trade. Curtis was very popular in a Tigers uniform, and participated in many community events. Everyone looked at him as a great guy, and Detroit, believe me, loves to reward loyalty and simply "being a nice guy" with big money contracts. It appears the departure of Granderson, as well as the effective starting pitcher Jackson, were for economic reasons. It wasn't so much the health of the Detroit economy, but more that Mike Illitch, an owner in a smaller market, had spent beyond the means of any mid-market owner by having a top-5 payroll. The roll of the dice that was giving Ordonez his at-bats turned out to be a huge, $18 million to be exact, mistake, which probably tipped the scales. It doesn't look good for the short term, but the long term outlook, especially after dumping huge contracts the next couple of years, will look much rosier with these new prospects and more money to spend.