Revisiting The Curtis Granderson Trade 4 Years Later

(Remember this?  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

The Mets finalized their 4-year/$60 million deal with Curtis Granderson yesterday, making his move across town official and ending a 4-year run in pinstripes that was interesting to say the least.  Granderson went from underperforming trade bust who had to be benched to rebuild his swing in his first season to one of the premiere power hitters in baseball from 2011-2012 to an unlucky injury case in a contract year this past season.  He finished his short Yankee career with a .245/.335/.495 slash line, 115 HR, 345 R scored, 307 RBI, 2 All Star Game selections, and 1 Silver Slugger award in '11.  He also leaves with no rings, joining the Yankees the year after their last title and being a part of 4 teams that failed to return to the World Series.

Yesterday marked the actual 4-year anniversary of the 3-team trade that brought C-Grand to the Yankees.  It was a trade that brought up the always pertinent "playing for the present or the future" question with respect to the Yankees' plans.  To acquire Granderson, at the time a 28-year-old All Star centerfielder, the Yankees traded away one of their top prospects in center fielder Austin Jackson, 24-year-old starting pitcher and former top prospect Ian Kennedy, and lefty bullpen arm Phil Coke.  The move was clearly made with the present in mind and now 4 years later, with no more WS trophies to show for it, it bears going back and taking a look at how things could have played out different had the trade not been made.

Don't Be Fooled Into Thinking C-Grand Really Is A "Serious Part" Of The Yankees' Plans

(Say goodbye to the Grandyman, kids.  He ain't coming back)

With the focus now shifting from behind the plate to the void at second base and need to upgrade the outfield, Cash attempted to keep all options open when he commented on the team's interest in Curtis Granderson last week.  Speaking to George King of The Post, Cash said C-Grand is a "serious part" of the Yankees' plans to address the outfield and is "not a fall-back option."

While that all sounds good at face value, the club's actions don't match up to the words.  If Granderson is such a serious part of what the Yankees want to do to upgrade their outfield, why was it such a hard decision to make him a qualifying offer earlier this month?  Why was the front office still debating whether to make the offer or not in the final hours leading up to the deadline?  It's not like the level of production that Granderson had in his last 2 non-injury years weren't worthy of the offer.  It's not like he's not on almost equal ground with the Beltrans and Choos of the world when it comes to new contract value.  If he's such a big part, why didn't the team extend the qualifying offer and immediate engage him in talks of a new multi-year deal like they did with Cano?

C-Grand Leaning Towards Declining His Qualifying Offer?

Via The Post:

“Well, it’s definitely something you've got to think about, and I appreciate the Yankees extending that offer to me.  You definitely got to continue to weigh all your options to see what’s the best fit for you. Is it doing something like [accepting] the qualifying offer and going back out there again [in free agency next year], or seeing what else is out there?

You know, there are 29 other ballclubs out there, and we’re now at a point where every team has the chance to be a contender here in the near future."

Certainly sounds like a guy who wants to test the open market, and more power to him if that's what he ends up doing.  We know there's a market out there for Granderson already and we can safely assume from his past production that he can get a better offer than 1 year/$14 million even coming off his down 2013.  Granderson was the one player the Yankees weren't sure about when they were making their decisions on who to make QOs to, so maybe he's taking that as a sign that they don't really want him back next year anyway.  He's got a few more days to decide, but the signs and his comments certainly lead one to believe that he'll decline.

Thinking About C-Grand's New Contract

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

If you're the type to put weight in early October hot stove rumors, it appears there's already another potential suitor for Curtis Granderson this offseason.  A Chicago Sun-Times report this past weekend painted the White Sox as an interested party, citing the always anonymous source who said they were expected to make "a hard push" for Granderson.  Like the Yankees, the White Sox were a hot offensive mess this season.  They could use Granderson's power, local ties, and personality to help inject some life into their franchise and put a few more butts in the stadium seats.

The Yankees were expected to make C-Grand a qualifying offer once the offseason started, although their true motivations for doing so are a bit of an unknown.  After seeing what Ichiro and Vernon Wells were still capable of in full-time outfield roles (nothing), the Yanks could certainly use Granderson in one of the corners and in the middle of the lineup next year.  With the criticism of their inability to develop any impact talent through the farm system getting louder and the front office acknowledging that changes need to be made, another 1st round draft pick would be nice to add to the MiL rebuilding effort.  Oh yeah, there's also that pesky little "goal not a mandate" payroll crunch in play.

Early C-Grand Interest Should Sway Yankee QO Decision

Last week I said I thought the Yankees should make Curtis Granderson a qualifying offer without even knowing how the market for him was going to shape up.  Based on the latest reports coming out of Chicago, it sounds like that market is coming together already.

A report in the Chicago Sun-Times on Sunday said the White Sox are expected to make "a hard push" for Granderson this offseason.  They need a lot of help on offense too, especially in the outfield, and Granderson has strong ties to the Chicago area where he grew up.  His skillset and local connections would be a great addition to a club that needs to bring some fans back to the park after a disastrous 2013 season.

As far as the Yankees are concerned, this rumor should be a strong indicator that there will be suitors for C-Grand out there and reason enough to make him a qualifying offer.  Even if they don't offer him a big deal, the White Sox would probably go more than 1 year and $14 million to get Granderson and would probably be willing to give up the draft pick to do it.  Odds are the Yankees won't be willing to go more than that, so they can at least recoup the pick for losing C-Grand by making the QO.

C-Grand Slump Comes At The Worst Time (For Everybody)

(Courtesy of the AP)

As bad as the weekend series against Boston went for the Yankees, there's something to be said for them putting up 29 runs in the 4 games.  It wasn't for lack of offense that they lost 3 of the 4 games, and guys like Robbie Cano, Brett Gardner, Alfonso Soriano, Lyle Overbay, and even Ichiro all had various levels of productive weekends at the dish.

One guy who didn't was Curtis Granderson, who's seen his production slow since first coming off the DL last month.  Joe sat him for Friday night's game and didn't even use him in a late pinch hitting role, and in the 3 games he did play C-Grand went 1-13 at the plate with a double and 5 strikeouts.

The Curtis Granderson Dilemma

(Courtesy of Getty Images)

There have been a lot of hitting headlines lately since the Yankees finally got their lineup upgraded to a competitive level.  Alfonso Soriano has hit 11 HR since being traded back to New York, Alex Rodriguez is a topic of discussion nearly every night and mainly because of his bat (.371 wOBA since coming off the DL), and Robbie Cano continues to shift the debate on what his contract should or should not be nightly with exploits at the dish.  Flying somewhat under the radar in that media storm is Curtis Granderson, whose been quietly productive and incredibly versatile since coming off the DL for the second time this season.

After last night's game, C-Grand is hitting .291/.412/.456 (.381 wOBA) in 97 August PA.  In 24 games back, Curtis has 23 hits, 17 walks, 3 home runs, 12 R scored, and 6 stolen bases.  He's started games in all 3 outfield positions and as the DH, has entered as a pinch hitter, and has hit 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th in the batting order.  He said all the right things before the season about doing whatever it took to help the team win when his center field spot no longer became his, and he's more than backed that up on the field since getting back.  In theory he should be doing everything to strengthen his value as one of the top free agent position players available after this season.  In actuality, it might not be that simple.

C-Grand Brings Respectability Back To The Lineup

(Courtesy of MiLB.com)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Barring any really unforeseen setbacks in the next few hours, all expectations are that Curtis Granderson will rejoin the Yankees and return to the lineup this weekend.  He wasn't in the Double-A Trenton lineup yesterday and Josh Norris reported that he was off to rejoin the team in Cali.  There was no formal confirmation or announcement by the team - they were basically on media blackout yesterday with the A-Rod stuff still hanging out there - but I can't imagine they would give up a day of rehab ABs for C-Grand if they and he were confident he was ready.  Personally, and I don't think I'm alone here, I'm hoping to see him back tonight.

Whether it's tonight or tomorrow, the return of Granderson to an already upgraded lineup should bring that lineup up out of the "upgraded" category and back to a level more befitting of a competitive Major League team.  While "good" would still be a bit of a stretch, these boys should now be at least respectable against both righty and lefty pitchers.

Granderson To Return Vs. Padres

Even though they got nothing at the deadline, the Yankees could still be getting an upgrade to their lineup as soon as tomorrow.  Via Josh Norris, Curtis Granderson was not listed on the Double-A Trenton roster today and is traveling to California to meet up with the Yankees for their weekend series against the San Diego Padres.  Norris did not specify which day, and there has been no follow-up on the report by anybody else, but as someone who covers Trenton intimately, Norris would have a better idea of what's going on than anybody at ESPN NY.

For C-Grand, this will mark the second return to the lineup for him this season.  Hopefully this one is more than 8 games.  In 6 MiL rehab games, Granderson was 4-19 with 4 BB, 5 K, and 3 R scored.  He's not the right-handed power bat the Yankees need, but he is another power bat and he's a better everyday lineup option than Wells and Ichiro.  For the Yankees, this is a greatly needed lengthening of the middle of the batting order and through association a deepening of the bench.

Timing Of C-Grand's Latest Injury Couldn't Be Worse

(Courtesy of the AP)

Man, Curtis Granderson just can't catch a break this year, huh?  Well technically he's caught 2 breaks, although neither of them are of the lucky variety, and at this point both Curtis' and the team's continued injury problems are getting a bit ridiculous.  After being back for just 8 games and hitting .250/.323/.393 in those game, C-Grand is heading back to the DL after having the pinky finger on his left hand broken by a Cesar Ramos pitch last night.  The amount of time Curtis has to miss won't be confirmed until he gets the finger checked out by a doctor on Monday, but the early estimate is at least 4 weeks.  There's never a good time for injuries in baseball, and even less of one for a team like the Yankees who have been snakebitten by injuries since last year's ALCS.  This latest setback for Granderson really comes at a bad time, though, for multiple reasons.

The Grandy Man Returneth

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

After the Yankees made a roster move to add a pitcher for yesterday's second doubleheader game, speculation started almost immediately about what it meant.  Brett Marshall was added as extra bullpen insurance, insurance that wasn't needed, but Brennan Boesch getting sent down to clear a spot was the real story because it could mean only one thing.  Curtis Granderson was ready to come back.

Joe hinted at it in his postgame presser, Donnie Collins added fuel to the fire with his report, and Granderson himself all but confirmed it last night on Twitter.  He's on his way to New York to meet up with the team today, and with Corban Joseph having to go back down to Triple-A immediately after yesterday's game the expectation is that C-Grand will be activated off the DL to fill that roster spot and will be in the starting lineup for tonight's game.

C-Grand To Officially Start His MiL Rehab Assignment Tonight

(The Grandy Man can ... return to the lineup soon?)

From some bad injury news to much better injury news.  Curtis Granderson's rehab work down in Tampa has been picking up steam in the last week and yesterday it got kicked into overdrive with the announcement that he'll start his rehab assignment tonight when he plays for Triple-A SWB.

Donnie Collins, Mr. Everything for the RailRiders, had the details yesterday, and they make it sound like Curtis won't be rehabbing for very long.  According to Collins, C-Grand is scheduled to be with the team "for the next three or four games" before presumably being activated off the DL to re-join the Major League roster.

As of tonight's game, C-Grand's 20-day rehab clock will start ticking, but if the team is only planning to play him in a handful of Triple-A games he could be back with the Yankees within a week or so.  He's not the right-handed bat they desperately need, but he's a significant upgrade to a lineup that could use a lot more length and power right now.  Here's hoping everything goes smooth in these rehab games.

A Small Victory For Logic- C-Grand Might Not Play Center When He Returns

(Courtesy of US Presswire)

There was a time, long ago after the 2012 season had ended, when the idea first came up of swapping Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner in the outfield this season.  Curtis' defense had drifted in liability territory over the past few seasons while Gardner consistently churned out some of the best defensive metrics in baseball, and it only made sense to make the move to a better defensive outfield alignment playing in YS3.  The plan, as far as we knew it, was beginning to take place early in spring camp until C-Grand stepped in for his first AB and promptly got his arm broken by an errant J.A. Happ fastball.

Once the extent of the injury was known, Cash came out and all but declared that plan dead.  This past weekend, however, there were implications that the plan could once again be changing, more than just implications actually.  According to Joe's pregame presser yesterday, the idea of keeping Gardner in center field and playing Granderson somewhere else (probably left) is still on the table and something the Yankees and C-Grand are working towards right now as part of his rehab in Tampa.  The natural reaction to this news?  Celebration.

Outfield Platoon Coming Soon

(Ichiro's everyday days could be coming to an end.  Courtesy of Reuters)

With Curtis Granderson getting closer to returning - a report earlier today by Chad Jennings had him now taking indoor BP - the Yankees are approaching the point where they'll have a lot of decisions to make with respect to their outfield construction.  Where will Curtis play in the outfield?  Where will Brett Gardner play in the outfield?  Who's getting bumped to the bench?  Who's getting sent down to Triple-A/DFA'd/outright released?  In that same post, Jennings mentioned (correctly) that it's still a bit premature to bring up some of these ideas now, particularly the one about how right field will be settled since it's an unspoken given that C-Grand and Gardner will be in center and left.  But based on what we've seen so far, the most logical choice, whether they like it or not, might be a Vernon Wells/Ichiro Suzuki platoon.

Granderson Not Cleared To Swing Either

It was reported last week that Curtis Granderson had been cleared to start swinging a bat, and Granderson tweeting out a picture of his injured arm without a brace on it seemed to support that report.  Yesterday, however, we were given some differing information via Dan Martin of The Post.

According to Martin's report and C-Grand himself, Curtis has yet to start swinging a bat and has not even been given a timetable for when he can begin.  While the doctors have been pleased with his progress so far, they want to see how his arm holds up to throwing a ball before progressing to swinging.

This makes us 2-2 on "can't swing yet" updates following a similar report on Mark Teixeira this past weekend.  As with Teix, this latest info on Curtis makes it seem like an early May return won't be possible, but also as with Teix, it's probably for the best that Granderson get more time to completely heal than less.  Remember that he still needs to get a full compliment of rehab/prehab swings in before returning to full game action, so late-May/early-June isn't out of the question.

Impact & Effects Of C-Grand's Fractured Forearm

(Why pitch that far inside in late February???  Courtesy of the AP)

I've been tougher on Curtis Granderson than most these past few seasons, admittedly shifting from excitement about his new power swing to disappointment that it sapped so much of the rest of what used to be a well-rounded offensive game.  But even I can't try to spin his fractured right forearm into anything remotely positive because there's simply nothing positive to take from it.  Granderson was one of the handful of players the Yankees couldn't afford to lose this year, Teix and Cano being the other two, and to lose him for 10 weeks, even if half of that time is Spring Training time, is a huge blow.  The baseball season doesn't give you timeouts or do-overs, though, so the Yankees must move forward with the players they have and try to figure out a strategy for how to get by without C-Grand until May.

There are a lot of aftershocks that will be felt throughout the ST roster and lineup, from now until the regular season starts, and a lot of players who are going to be looked at differently for the rest of spring camp.  In order of most immediately important to least, here are the biggest effects of C-Grand's injury.

BREAKING NEWS: Curtis Granderson Out With A Fractured Right Forearm

I was hoping it wouldn't be this bad after first reading that he had left the game after getting hit on the right wrist in his first AB of 2013, but the Yankees are calling Curtis Granderson's injury a fractured right forearm according to multiple reporters, and he is expected to be out 10 weeks.

This is obviously a huge unexpected blow to the Yankees and what was expected to be a weaker offense this year.  More details to come on this story as they become available.

** UPDATE 2:05 PM- Just to clarify, the 10 weeks includes time needed to recover and rehab (via Jack Curry). **

** UPDATE 2:29PM- Granderson on the injury- "I was excited. My body was feeling good, mind was feeling good and I was ready to go. Five pitches in we have a little setback. They said it could be worse. Now we rest, recover, get it back and get ready to play whenever that day comes. " (via Mark Feinsand) **

** UPDATE 2:52PM- Via Bryan Hoch, Cash has already ruled out the possibility of Eduardo Nunez being an OF replacement for Granderson. **

** UPDATE 3:19PM- Via Erik Boland, Cash has said that all current replacement options are internal.  We'll see how long that lasts. **

C-Grand In Camp, Wants To Return Next Year

Curtis Granderson arrived at camp yesterday, and participated in some outfield running and throwing drills with Derek Jeter before speaking to reporters.  The biggest point of discussion was Curtis' impending free agency after this season and his desire to remain with the Yankees.

I don't need to go back through the reasons why I think the Yankees should let C-Grand walk after this season, and it certainly comes as no surprise that he wants to stay.  The stadium dimensions are tailor-made for his power swing, being a star in New York gives him a ton more opportunities to participate in off-field and local activities that he loves to do, and the Yankees would probably offer him the most money.  Curtis has fully ingrained himself into the Yankee family and been a valuable member of the team in his time here, but I still wouldn't anticipate anything more than a qualifying offer.

One interesting bit of baseball-related info to come out of Curtis' chat with reporters yesterday was the revelation that he tweaked his offseason program and started hitting earlier than usual at the suggestion of Ichiro (via Erik Boland).  If that change in routine helps cut down on the strikeouts and improves his overall production this season, maybe that will inspire the Yankees to consider offering C-Grand a new deal, especially if they are unable to re-sign Robbie Cano.

2012 Statistical Trends: Curtis Granderson's Strikeouts

(An all too common occurrence.  Courtesy of Ron Antonelli/Daily News)

It's been a bit of a roller coaster experience for Curtis Granderson since joining the Yankees before the 2010 season.  What started off as high levels of excitement and anticipation about acquiring an All Star-caliber player in his prime quickly turned to disappointment based on underwhelming performance, then right back to excitement after a big rebound year in 2011.  C-Grand set the bar high for himself in 2012, and made plenty of comments prior to the season about wanting to exceed that bar and taking the necessary steps to do so.

Unfortunately the season didn't play out that way, as Granderson's numbers across the board took a big hit from their 2011 levels and dropped down to, and in some cases below, the levels from his disappointing 2010.  At the forefront of this regression was a jump in C-Grand's strikeouts, which reached a career worst and Yankee all-time record in 2012, and hastened his transition from a well-rounded offensive threat to an extreme Three True Outcomes hitter.

Trade Curtis Granderson, Do It

It's mostly just speculation and loose connections to various players this morning in Yankeeland.  But there was some dust stirred up earlier when Buster Olney tweeted that the Yankees were "open to talks" about trading Curtis Granderson.  I already made my pitch for what I would do with Granderson if the situation was different this offseason, but even with the payroll constraints on this is a move I would support if there's some body to the rumor.

Yes, trading Granderson away would open up another hole in the everyday lineup next season, one that would not be easily filled.  If the Yankees still want to contend next season, as Joel Sherman said they did when discussing the C-Grand rumors, ridding themselves of the best power hitter in their lineup doesn't help that cause.  But let's look objectively at Granderson.  He's 31 years old, he'll be 32 before the start of next season, and despite his high HR totals he appears to be in the early stages of decline.  His contact skills have steadily eroded since joining the Yankees, he set new career highs in total strikeouts and K rate in 2012, and most defensive metrics paint him as a below-average defensive center fielder at best.

His price tag is already $15 million for 2013, and that value will more than likely increase when he becomes a free agent on the strength of his HR numbers.  That will be too rich for the Yankees' blood if this offseason is any indication of how serious they are about getting below the luxury tax threshold.  If Granderson really is starting to decline and isn't a candidate to be brought back anyway, why not move him while you can still get something of value back for him?  It won't be value that will replace his production, but it's better than nothing.  I was a little more on-the-fence about this when I wrote about it months back, but now I'm going to say it more definitively.  The Yankees should trade Curtis Granderson.