I am all for the Yankees trading their prospects for a chance to win now. In my opinion prospects are “maybes” while established players are proven. The Yankees are in a position to begin the next dynasty in their history, but need to make some changes in order to see it through. That is why Hughes, Chamberlain, Montero, or Jackson should not hold them back from acquiring a pitcher the caliber of Roy Halladay. I don’t feel the same about Curtis Granderson and that is why the rumored three way blockbuster with Arizona and Detroit would be one which they should pass up.

Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News reported the Tigers asked for Phil Hughes and Austin Jackson for Granderson. Another deal had the Yankees giving up Michael Dunn, Phil Coke, and Ian Kennedy in a complicated three way with Arizona. The Yankees may already have their version of Granderson in Jackson who NYBD contributor Jed Weisberger believes should be untouchable. Jackson has speed, can hit for average, and is developing his power. Defensively some feel he could be a gold glove centerfielder in the big leagues already. I believe Phil Hughes is the best of the young pitchers. He is the symbol of the Yankees renewed focus on player development and, unlike Joba Chamberlain, has the poise and baseball intellect to reach his ceiling. Players like Dunn, Coke, and Kennedy might not be stars, but are the types of young and inexpensive pieces you can rely on to fill a role. In the case of Dunn and Coke they are left handed relievers which is an expensive commodity on the open market.

What the Yankees would be getting in Curtis Granderson is a good, not great player, and an outstanding human being. The work his foundation does with respect to education is widely recognized throughout baseball and should be commended however, as a baseball player I think Granderson has some warts.  He has good speed, power, and can play defense. My issues with Granderson are he strikes out too much and has a career .210 batting average against left handed pitching. Last year he was simply a league average player with an OPS+ of exactly 100. He is a complementary player in which you are giving up major organization depth. It quite simply doesn’t make sense.

If Granderson were a free agent I would support this move. As a matter of fact it makes more sense financially to bring in Granderson- who is owed $24 million the next three years- than give Johnny Damon a reported 2- 3 year contract at an annual rate of $10 million. The problem is Damon just costs money where Granderson costs money and prospects.

Young starting pitching, left handed relievers, and one of the few major league ready positional players in the system are too valuable for a good, not great, player like Curtis Granderson. This deal sounds complicated and also doesn’t address the Yankees main need as per Brian Cashman – pitching. In short, I would pass and since we don’t know what team got cold feet in this deal maybe the Yanks already did.

Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Austin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers, Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Michael Dunn, New York Yankees, Phil Coke, Phil Hughes