Gleeman on a deal that's worked out quite nicely for the Tigers (if not well enough, this season):
- When the Tigers demoted Max Scherzer to Triple-A in mid-May he was 1-4 with an ugly 7.29 ERA, but since returning following a two-week stint in Toledo he's been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
Scherzer tossed eight innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays last night, improving to 9-5 with a 2.20 ERA, .215 opponents' batting average, and 116 strikeouts in 111 innings since rejoining the rotation.
Just another chance to revisit the big three-team deal from last winter that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees; Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson to the Tigers; and Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks. And last month the Diamondbacks flipped Jackson to the White Sox for Daniel Hudson (and 19-year-old pitching prospect David Holmberg).
So far, the Tigers and Diamondbacks have come out way ahead on this deal, and the Yankees have come out ... well, not so far ahead. Granderson's been decent, but it's a cold fact that Austin Jackson alone has been more valuable than Granderson ... and the Yankees gave up Ian Kennedy and Phil Coke, too. Both of whom have been quite good.
Has anyone put together a complete database of trades that would allow one to study (for example) the results of trading young players for older players? I doubt the comprehensive results would be as dramatic as this particular deal. But I suspect trading veterans for kids works less often than it does.