Over 19 spring games, former Yankee top prospect, Austin Jackson, who was used to acquire All-Star center fielder, Curtis Granderson, is hitting an impressive .356/.441/.576 with 9 walks and just 8 strikeouts. Manager Jim Leyland is particularly pleased with A-Jax’s performance this spring. “Let’s face it, we (traded) a real good player, a very popular player (for Jackson),” says Leyland. “He would have had to really show us he’s not ready, and he hasn’t shown that. He’s done very, very well. I’ve been very impressed.” Now, as I have said in the past, spring performances, whether good or bad, must be taken with a grain of salt given the limited number of at-bats. However, let’s discuss a hypothetical for the moment in view of A-Jax’s strong spring–if Curtis Granderson has a year similar to his 2009 season and if Austin Jackson delivers on his promise for Detroit, rather than for New York, would you second guess Brian Cashman’s decision to pull the trigger on that trade?
In my opinion, I think, at the time, it was the right move for the Yankees, so Cashman should not be accountable in the event of a disappointing outcome, however, I could see many Yankee fans and writers criticizing him endlessly if Jackson succeeds and Granderson scuffles.
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8 Responses to A-Jax in retrospect
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TIQ IQ
When the trade went down everyone was saying it was a slam dunk… I think he and Kennedy (considering thier cost control) were pretty big chips to give up.
Jackson hit about .350 in AAA up till the all star break if I remember right. We were trying to change his approach so that he would develope his power. I wonder if that caused his poor second half. I think that orginizations that succeed have to develope some talent and keep them. The Yanks have the money so they may not be as dependent on this but it would be nice to have some more homegrow player so we can aquire a Cliff Lee whe he becomes availiable.
You’re right that some people might frame it that way but I don’t think its the right way to look at the deal. There’s no chance that New York would have opened the season with both AJax and Gardner in the lineup. If they hadn’t made the deal for Granderson, there would have been a deal for someone else or another year of Damon or a bad long term contract for Holliday or Bay. Maybe with perfect hindsight if AJax exceeds expectations and Granderson slumps, you could argue that they would have been better off making a different trade. But who knows what other trades might have been available. The Yankees don’t have to “win” the deal for it to continue to make sense.
Sounds like he was traded cause he didn’t hit for much power. So if you’re a Yankee prospect and you don’t hit for tons of power you get traded? Is that the new standard?
Since when does a CF have to hit for a lot of power?
I know the Tigers make a lot of bad decisions, but I find it interesting that Austin Jackson will be their starting CF and lead off man when the Yankees apparently had no use for him. All because he didn’t hit for power.
Time will tell whether that was a bad or good trade for the Yankees.
Well, there’s also the 2.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and the impossibly high BABIP.
wich tandem is going to be better THIS year: Ajax/Damon or Granderson/Gardner?
Granderson and Gardner. Easily.
My opinion is with Trevor and JeffG: it’s only spring, but Ajax and Kennedy… Here’s hoping Curtis s a world-beater.
It seems to me that Yankee fans are underestimating Granderson. I think he’s a superstar. Please no stats. I haven’t looked at a stat since the 70′s. I expect him to be the CF for about the next decade and I expect everyone to be quite pleased with his performance. AJax may turn out to be a fine player and it would have been best to keep him but getting Curtis Granderson in return makes it a no doubter and a no second guesser.