Read Sports Geek’s argument and Loyal Homer’s arguments about who will be the most important player on the hot stove during this MLB offseason.
Following the historic collapse of the Detroit Tigers during the final weeks of the 2009 baseball season, change is inevitable for the Motor City. For a team to be THAT close to playing October baseball – only to have the opportunity snatched away in extra innings of an extra game – it is foolish to assume that the Tigers’ front offices will be content to just leave things alone. Instead, general manager David Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland will be spending the next few months trying to determine exactly what went wrong, and who are the best people to help fix those problems.
Additionally, there are several key players from the Tigers who become free agents this offseason. With several very expensive contracts already on their books (such as $10M in 2009 for the disappointing Dontrelle Willis and $19M for Magglio Ordonez), the Tigers are facing the prospect of a very costly next few seasons.
With the inevitable winds of change blowing on the horizon, the Tigers must look for any way possible to add talent to the team without adding to the payroll. One option considered, an option that could have a very large impact on the league, is to shop around All-Star centerfielder Curtis Granderson. After publicly acknowledging that Dombrowski was willing to make a trade with Granderson, several teams immediately began to express an interest in dealing for the 2009 Man of the Year.
Granderson is a rare talent in baseball. Although his 2009 batting average of .249 was low by his standards, he has been one of the top leadoff hitters in the American League over the past four seasons. Despite the lower than normal batting average last season, Granderson still managed to hit a career-high 30 home runs along with eight triples and 23 doubles. On the base paths Granderson also accounted for 20 stolen bases last season.
It is his unique combination of speed and power that make Granderson so appealing. Helping to sweeten the deal is the fact that the Tigers seem desperate to reload the roster on the cheap. Because the relative cost in order to get Granderson into their lineup is low (he will likely be dealt for a handful of prospects), Granderson could become the steal of the offseason.
One such team that has seemed very excited about the possibility of bringing Granderson on board is the Chicago Cubs, who are currently paying more than $12M a year to Kosuke Fukudome to play center field. Fukudome was a very highly sought after free agent from Japan, and the Cubs were quick to sign him to their roster for a $48M deal over a four year period. Halfway through that contract, however, Fukudome has not performed nearly as well as Granderson, but makes nearly four times the salary. Granderson would bring better hitting and fielding to the Cubs in the center field position at a fraction of the cost.
Two other teams that could be in the market for Granderson are the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees face the likelihood of losing Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon to free agency during the offseason, and will be in need of an outfielder. Because the World Series champs are ALWAYS interested in making a deal, it would not be a surprise at all to see Granderson in pinstripes by the time April rolls around. As for the Angels, there is some question as to where he would fit in because they already have a marquis centerfielder in Torii Hunter. Nevertheless, the Angels organization has expressed an immediate interest in dealing for Granderson.
No matter where he ends up, Curtis Granderson is a difference maker both on and off the field. With so many teams seemingly interested in him, the Tigers will have plenty of offers to chew on over the next few months. Whether the Tigers ultimately deal him away or not, his reported availability should have a huge impact on the league. With so many big-market teams apparently interested in him, Curtis Granderson could make for the blockbuster trade of the year!
Is this a joke?
1. The Tigers aren’t likely to lose Miguel Cabrera–he is under contract for years to come and is NOT a free agent
2. Granderson will not be dealt for a low-cost package of a “handful of prospects”. If he is traded, it will be at fair market value, which will be high.
3. Granderson will be making $5.5M next year. This is an incredible steal, but last I checked that it about half of what Fukudome makes, not a quarter.
With all of the trade rumors that have been flying around about Granderson this offseason, this is the most factually flawed and substantively lacking piece that I’ve seen yet.
Grand Cards,
You are absolutely correct about Miguel Cabrera.
We want nothing more than to ensure that we are always publishing the most accurate information possible, so I appreciate you calling it to our attention. We’ve updated the article to account for this, and I want to thank you for catching it!
That having been said…
1. Although I may have been off on the timing of when Miguel Cabrera becomes a free agent, it does not change the fact that the Tigers have a lot of money invested in several big money contracts. If anything, it only further PROVES my point, because Cabrera’s contract is another one of those expensive deals!
2. As a result of their current payroll situation, the Tigers are considering the possibility of trading Granderson away in an effort to restock their roster with some less costly prospects. It’s a quantity vs. quality conversation. The Tigers have one quality player that they are trying to exchange for the quantity of several prospect players. For a big-market team like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, etc., where payroll is not normally an issue (which consequently means that the development of prospects is not as high a priority as it might be for the Royals, Pirates, Indians, etc), the cost of giving up several prospects to get a quality player like Granderson on their roster is relatively low.
Look at the Philadelphia Phillies, who gave up four minor-leaguers to get Cliff Lee (and Ben Francisco) into their organization. Although the Phillies did not win the World Series, they were able to get one of the best pitchers in the league (and THE best pitcher of the World Series) onto their roster, and it only cost them four minor-leaguers.
The Indians, like the Tigers, were interested in clearing up room off of their payroll. Rather than pay up to keep Lee on the team, they sought a deal for several prospect players. While the Indians seemingly got what they wanted out of the deal, the Phillies definitely got Lee at a relatively low cost. They didn’t have to give up a guy like Howard, Utley, Ibanez, etc. to get him on the team. They instead gave up four players who played for teams in Reading, Lehigh Valley, etc. Those four players had NO impact on the Phillies, but Lee made a HUGE impact for them. Their cost to get Lee onto the team was very low.
Likewise, if the Yankees (for example) can get Granderson at the expense of some prospect players, I think the cost to the Yankees would be relatively low, compared to the value they would get from Granderson.
3. In 2009, Fukudome earned $12.5M and Granderson earned $3.5M. It may have been a while since I did basic math, but I am pretty sure that 3.5 is about one-fourth of 12.5. Granderson played at a fraction of the cost for Fukudome, and had better production. I don’t understand what is factually flawed about that statement.
I appreciate your opinion very much, although judging by your name it is clearly a biased opinion. It is strong opinions from readers like you, though, that make what we do so much fun! That’s the beauty of a sports DEBATE. I see things one way, and you see things the other.
Thanks for commenting!
And thank you for your lengthy response! In light of the trade, I think that the Tigers got more for Granderson than low-cost prospects–3 of the 4 have already played in the major leagues, after all–your response to my comment does a great job of fleshing out the whole process and I think you’re right on. This was definitely a cost savings move, but not a giveaway. I’ve just got my fingers crossed that Jackson develops into, well…the next Curtis Granderson. Thanks for the back and forth with me, and in light of your response I’m sorry for the harsh criticism. Keep up the good work.
Good point on the fact that 3 of the players they got have some MLB experience. That’s small consolation, though, when you consider what they sacrificed to get those guys in.
Being an Indians’ fan, I know what it is like to see guys develop into stars, only to move on to ‘greener’ pastures once they really come into their own. Having watched guys like Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, and now C.C. Sabathia go on to get rings with other teams when they all cut their teeth in Cleveland is heartbreaking, ESPECIALLY when you consider the value we got for them when they left (which is virtually nothing).
Unfortunately, the problem for Detroit is that they have too much money tied up in guys like Dontrelle Willis, who is nothing more than a drain on the Tigers’ resources.
I wonder, though, if the Tigers would have made such a drastic move if they had actually reached the postseason. This seems almost like a knee-jerk reaction in response to the disappointment from how the season ended. If Detroit had reached the playoffs, my guess is that Granderson would still be a Tiger today.