Cubs “absolutely” interested in Granderson
November 15th, 2009 | by Mark |According to Phil Rogers of the Tribune, GM Jim Hendry says he is “absolutely” interested in offering a prospect laden package to the Tigers for Centerfielder Curtis Granderson. Rogers’ sources say that the Cubs plan an “aggressive push” for Granderson.
In another article, Rogers says that, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America, the Cubs have the talent to land Granderson, even more so than the Yankees or Angels.
What kind of talent are we talking about? Well, currently the names being thrown around include minor leaguers Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, Hak-Ju Lee, Andrew Cashner, Jay Jackson or Chris Carpenter, as well as major leaguers Jake Fox, Micah Hoffpauir, Tom Gorzelanny, Aaron Heilman, Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles.
So, what do we make of this? The Cubs definitely have the talent to land Granderson, but is he worth it? Well, over the last 4 years, Granderson has averaged 23.5 HR’s and 16.5 SB’s and is a career .272/.344/.484 hitter. He has a career .993 fielding percentage and The Fielding Bible rates him as the 8th best defensive center fielder in MLB from 2006-2008. On the negative side, he is a lifetime .210 hitter in 619 AB’s against lefthanders (including .183 in 2009) and ESPN’s Keith Law (pay site) says that Granderson has effectively become a platoon hitter as a result of his struggles.
The Cubs have been in “Win Now” mode for the last several years and this kind of move would fall into line with that philosophy. However, at some point you need to be able to call upon your minor leaguers to replace the fading talent in the bigs.
Unless you are the Yankees and have gobs of money to throw around, you cannot always go the free agent route to fill holes in your lineup and if you use up all your best minor leaguers in trades, you have nothing left to rebuild with.
On the other hand, the Cubs do have an excess of middle infield prospects. If they could acquire Granderson for a package built around Hak-Ju Lee, Josh Vitters and perhaps a pitcher, they could still have a good nucleus of talent to build their future upon (namely Starlin Castro).
So, if I were Jim Hendry, I would definitely go after Granderson, but I would not bet the farm on him. Here’s what I would offer:
- Hak-Ju Lee (a good prospect, but Castro is better and further along),
- Josh Vitters (Ramirez is signed through 2012),
- Chris Carpenter (the Cubs have a few good starters in Cashner, Jackson and Carpenter, so trading one away won’t kill them), and
- Jake Fox (who’s better suited as a DH anyway).
If that is not enough to get Granderson, then move on.
What do you think? Would you make that deal? Would the Tigers go for it?
Let me know your thoughts.
Tags: Aaron Heilman, Aaron Miles, Andrew Cashner, Chris Carpenter, Curtis Granderson, Hak-Ju Lee, Jake Fox, Jay Jackson, Josh Vitters, Micah Hoffpauir, Mike Fontenot, Stalin Castro, Starlin Castro, Tom Gorzelanny
By Markus on Nov 19, 2009
What do you think of my proposal: Hak-Ju Lee, Josh Vitters, Chris Carpenter and Jake Fox for Granderson? Sure, as long as Casper Wells is included from the Tigers farm system.
By Mark on Nov 19, 2009
Not sure we could pry Wells from Detroit, but maybe we could get Detroit to include Edwin Jackson, since they seem eager to shed salary.
By Perry Fritz on Nov 26, 2009
With the Cubs still having Bradley on the roster it’s hard to trade him,I would not trade for Granderson cause look at his stat’s hitting from the left side of the plate besides the tigers are as greedy as Toronto for Halliday I would try and get Burrell for Bradley and leave hucadome in Center and put Burrell in right,Burrell may not fit but what’s the alternitive with few centerfielders on the free agent front
By Mark on Nov 29, 2009
I think if the Cubs trade for Burrell, they will just have to turn around and trade him, as he doesn’t fit into their plans. If the Cubs can trade Bradley without having to take on Burrell, I think they will go after Marlon Byrd as their centerfielder.