The Curtis Granderson Edwin Jackson Trade

The Tigers made a great three way today when they trade Edwin Jackson to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Curtis Granderson to the Evil Empire (New York Yankees). Does it suck the Tigers traded Granderson, yes but look at this realistically. Curtis was a good player not a great player. He wasn't a leadoff hitter, he doesn't draw many walks, strikes out too much and is soon to be out his prime and most importantly he can't hit left handed pitching. Edwin was a good pitcher who broke down the second half of the season and wasn't effective down the stretch. The Tigers in return got 4 players, 3 of which could be great players here. Welcome Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson.

Max Scherzer is a legitimate pitcher. Last year he went 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA while striking out 174 in 170 IP. He only walked 63 batters though which is a sign of good command. He throws hard and has a good repitore of pitches. Not only could he strike out over 200 hitters this season but a 1-2-3 combo of Verlander, Scherzer and Porcello is down right scary. Best thing about him is he's cheap and under our control for the next five years. Only downside in the should inflammation he suffered this year, not overly alarming though.

Daniel Schlereth is an extremely young, hard throwing lefty. He did get dinged around this September but he was a 23 year old making his big league debut from AA ball. Schlereth has a fastball that ranges from 91-95 MPH and a curveball that can make hitters look silly. He could be the closer of the future if not this season given the fact that Lyon and Rodney have declined arbitration. Schlereth has tremendous upside and in college at Arizona he closed game while Ryan Perry acted as a set-up man. The Tigers may want to look into this now that the two are teammates again.

Phil Coke is another lefty bullpen guy. Tigers fans can think of him as a left handed Zach Miner who is a tad more reliable. Coke was 8th in the A.L. in holds and was used regularly as a lefty specialist for the Yankees. Lefties hit .195 off of him last season. If need be the Tigers could also push Coke to a spot starter or 5th starter but he's better suited as a reliever.

Austin Jackson is the one piece of the puzzle I'm not crazy about. He busted through the minor rankings in a hurry but lately has shown signs of a regression, but that's to be expected of a 22 year old kid. You'll his ups and his downs. He hit .300 in AA last season but he doesn't have much power while he could grow into it don't bank on it. He needs to work on his plate discipline while cutting down the strikeouts but he is fast and is a great defensive player. The ceiling for Jackson is a right handed poor man's Curtis Granderson. The great thing about him is he's 22, and will turn 23 before the season starts. Odds are he'll be your day to day starting center fielder in 2010.

So Tigers fans look at it this way. The Tigers have taken a step back this year because they're looking to cut costs and wait for players (Magglio, Guillen, Bonderman, Robertson and Willis) to come off the books and free up huge money. Granderson and Jackson were traded so the Tigers could try to give Verlander the big, long contract he deserves. The Tigers will compete for 3rd in 2010 but look for them to be strong in 2011 if and big if, but if they can gap the problems at 3rd and shortstop. Sometimes you make a step backwards to go forward.