Revisiting The Three-Team, Seven-Player Trade That Sent Curtis Granderson To The Yankees

In honor of Curtis Granderson announcing his retirement on Friday, let's take a look back at the trade that brought him to the Bronx -- a three-team, seven-player mega deal involving the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

Just like this past December, the hot stove was sizzling during the Winter Meetings in 2009. 

On December 8, the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers in a deal that involved three teams and seven players. 

Before diving into the details -- and how it worked out for the Yanks -- here's a recap of the trade: 

New York Yankees acquire OF Curtis Granderson (from Detroit)

Detroit Tigers acquire RHP Max Scherzer and LHP Daniel Schlereth (from Arizona) as well as LHP Phil Coke and OF Austin Jackson (from New York)

Arizona Diamondbacks acquire RHP Ian Kennedy (from New York) and RHP Edwin Jackson (from Detroit)

At the time of the transaction, Granderson was entering his seventh season in the Majors, coming off his first ever All-Star Game appearance in 2009. His left-handed swing was tailor-made for the short porch in Yankee Stadium, worth the price of surrendering lefty specialist Coke and outfielder Jackson -- who at the time was still a prospect in the Yankees' system on the cusp of his big-league debut.

Some considered Scherzer, 25, and Schlereth, 23, to be the prizes of the deal -- in reality, it seemed to be a fair trade for all three parties. In fact, in the first few years after the trade went down, it wasn't only fair, but beneficial for all three teams. 

The Yankees got their new starting center fielder and their projections on how Granderson would perform in the Bronx were spot on. In the four seasons Granderson spent in a Yankees' uniform, he hit 115 home runs and added 15 wins above replacement. In 2011 and 2012, Granderson had two of the best seasons of his career, mashing 41 and 43 homers respectively, earning back-to-back All-Star Game appearances. 

WATCH: Curtis Granderson announces his retirement after 16 prolific big-league seasons

Even with all-decade worthy performances from the club's new star outfielder, New York failed to return to the World Series over Granderson's tenure with the Bombers. After just 61 games played in 2013, Granderson went crosstown to Queens, signing a deal with the New York Mets.

He called it a career on Friday with this heartfelt announcement on social media, thanking each of the seven teams he played for in his 16 years in the Majors.

As for those that the Bombers shipped away in the Granderson trade, Jackson turned out to be a solid big-league outfielder. Jackson finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year race the ensuing season, starting in Detroit's outfield for each of the next five years. Since being sent to the Seattle Mariners in 2014, Jackson has struggled to play a full season, appearing in more than 85 games in a single season just twice. He hasn't played in the Majors since 2018.

Coke, who won a ring with New York in 2009, also spent those next five campaigns with the Tigers. After departing in the offseason after the 2014 season, Coke pitched sparsely for four teams in two years and hasn't appeared in the big leagues since 2016.

Scherzer, of course, wound up to be an ace in the Tigers' rotation and perennial Cy Young Award contender. If any team has a regret from this deal, it's certainly Arizona. Evidently the Diamondbacks were seeking proven hurlers at the time and impatiently dealt Scherzer -- the right-hander had made only 37 starts with Arizona prior to the trade.

In 2013, Scherzer won an AL Cy Young Award with Detroit, winning 21 games -- 21 victories remains a career high. 

Max Scherzer facing Curtis Granderson in 2019, 10 years after being traded in the same deal

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Interestingly, just like Jackson and Coke, the right-hander also spent five years with Detroit before his departure. Before then, the Tigers had one of the best rotations in the game with Justin Verlander, Scherzer, Rick Porcello and David Price -- each of those hurlers has won at least one Cy Young Award in their career.

Daniel Schlereth, a 23-year-old at the time of the trade, went on to pitch in just 74.2 innings with Detroit. The left-hander made his final big-league appearance in 2012.

The Tigers made the World Series just two years after the Granderson trade, but were swept by San Francisco in the 2012 Fall Classic, the Giants' second even-year title of the decade. 

As for Arizona, the Diamondbacks won their division in 2011 behind their newly-acquired ace Kennedy -- who won 21 games during that campaign (best in the National League) and finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award race. The 2011 season remains the franchise's most recent division title.

Edwin Jackson -- who was an American League All-Star in 2009 prior to the trade -- lasted just one season with Arizona. That might surprise you, but in 2019, the right-hander famously set a new, unique record for playing with his 14th team (more teams than any other player in baseball history). In other words, he's made a career off one-year appearances with plenty of different clubs. 

At the very least, Jackson gave the Diamondbacks their most recent no-hitter in franchise history -- an electric 149-pitch, eight-walk performance in a 1-0 victory at Tropicana Field.

READ: What's left on the Yankees' offseason to-do list?

When it's all set and done, none of the seven players involved in the monumental trade lasted more than five years in their new organization. 

This three-team swap, however, opened up the door for another similar trade five years later between these same three clubs. In that subsequent three-team deal, New York acquired Didi Gregorius from the Diamondbacks in 2014 -- a young shortstop set to fill Derek Jeter's shoes in the Bronx -- while sending Shane Greene to Detroit.

Curtis Granderson and Didi Gregorius were both acquired by the Yankees in three-team deals between the same three clubs

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

To keep up with all of Inside The Pinstripe’s coverage, click the "follow" button at the top right-hand corner of this page. For more from Max Goodman, follow him on Twitter @MaxTGoodman