While Carmine Caruso reported it as a rumor earlier, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated has confirmed via his Twitter that the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Detroit Tigers have agreed on a deal that will send OF Curtis Granderson to the Bronx and P Edwin Jackson to the desert. The details are as followed:
The Yankees will receive Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. He hit .249 with 30 home runs and 71 RBI’s in 2009, and has always been amongst the elite when it comes to pre-season AL MVP talk. He will likely take up the area in center field, while Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, and Bret Gardner split time between left and right.
The deal also means that the Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui era in New York has come to a conclusion.
Arizona receives an incredibly talented pitcher in Edwin Jackson, who was one of the few bright spots of the Detroit Tigers disappointing 2009 season. After starting his career with Tampa Bay, Jackson went 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA, striking out 161 in the process.
Alongside Jackson, the team also gets former coveted-Yankee Ian Kennedy. The pitcher is coming off surgery to repair an aneurysm in his shoulder, but should find time in the Detroit pitching staff.
Lastly, the Tigers will obtain a large variety of players from both of the aforementioned teams. Detroit will get Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Bombers, while the Snakes give up Matt Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth.
Austin was one of the most prized possessions of the Yankees over the past few seasons, while Coke made several appearances in relief during the recent World Series run.
Scherzer and Schlereth both made a few appearances for Arizona, and may give Detroit an elite group of youngsters for years to come.
We will let everyone know once physicals have been taken, so we can confirm the deal itself.
I think the sox are going to make a big move in the next 24 hours to counter this move. I think they almost have to get Halladay now.
I mean the move is all theirs, this pretty much puts the Yanks out of the running (for now). I still think if he does get traded at THIS point, he goes to the Rays due to the package they offering. May take a lot more from the Sox to get him.