DD Making the Tough Calls
By Blake VandeBunte • Dec 14th, 2009 • Category: Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson, Dave Dombrowski, Edwin Jackson, Magglio Ordonez, Nate RobertsonFrom what I can gather, people are pretty sour over Curtis Granderson being shipped out of town. I feel that. I honestly do, I’m just not too upset. I buy the reasoning. I think Granderson is a very good player. I do not think he’s a great player. He’s about to start getting paid like a great player and that makes this deal a little easier to take.
I think there are a few moves that GM Dave Dombrowski still needs to make to help make this offseason a success. That being said, here’s what I like so far:
- Trading Granderson and Edwin Jackson: Granderson is due about $26M over the next three years. Jackson on the other hand is due a pretty substantial raise in 2010 and could get even more in 2011. They picked up four cheap players that could all end up playing pretty important roles in the the next five or six years. I think Max Scherzer is a terrific pick-up and Austin Jackson, while no Granderson, could step right in and start in 2010. This move saved the Tigers tons of cash and set them up for success in the future.
- Letting Brandon Lyon walk: Lyon was good for the Tigers last year, but boy was he lucky. His numbers looks decent but his batting average on balls in play was freakishly low which screams luck. I think the club would have taken Lyon back at the right price but the Astros stepped in and gave Lyon a three year-deal (almost never a good idea for a reliever) worth $15M. Wow. So now the Tigers saved some cash by not giving Lyon that cash and then they got a draft pick as compensation for losing Lyon. Pretty good deal there and a nice move by Dombrowski. They ended up getting one good year from Lyon for cheap then let him walk and take a draft pick. That’s how it’s done.
- Shopping the roster: I have to imagine that most of the Tigers roster is available in trades since they traded Granderson and Jackson. You can bet that Rick Porcello and Justin Verlander are going nowhere, but everyone else making over a million bucks a year is likely being shopped. If DD can find a taker for Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge, Magglio Ordonez, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis, or Jeremy Bonderman, this offseason will look even better in my opinion.
I know the Granderson trade is a tough one. He was a fun player to watch and he appeared to love Detroit. However, I like the direction the club is taking here. If I can be brutally honest, the Tigers teams of the last two seasons have been almost no fun to root for. Looking at facts the Tigers of 2008-09 were overpaid and not all that good. The 2010 Tigers will be younger and cheaper in 2010. They may not tear up the league, but we’ll have new blood and cheap contracts. It will be a roster with more guys wanting to win and more guys wanting to work. I like it.
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Not to mention that their confirmed payroll for 2011 is just over $35Million.
Dave Dombrowski has simply asked us fans to sit out one season in exchange for 5+ years of greatness.
It’s scary to think that 2011 will boast a rotation of Verlander/Porcello/Turner/Crosby/Scherzer, especially when you consider that everyone but JV will be arb eligible and under team control for several years. By then young gunz Oliver,Weinhardt and Satterwhite will be joining Perry and Zumaya in the pen under a similar situation.
On a similar note position players like Jackson, Boesch, Strieby, Wells, Ramirez and Avila will also get a chance to crack the roster.
While I realize that it’s unrealistic to believe that “every” prospect will pan out, we have a mitfull of options. Many young, talented and inexpensive players will be the core of our Tiger team allowing DD to fill whatever holes remain with the abundance of excess cash.
Hang in there folks, bright days are just around the corner.
You make some good points Blake. My only retro-wish concerning the trading of Granderson is that he be sent somewhere other than New York. Hating the Yankees is among my favorite things.