MLB Trade Rumors’ Steve Adams has the 411:
9:21am [CST]: The Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers have completed a three-team trade that will send Didi Gregorius to the Yankees, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that Robbie Ray will indeed go from the Tigers to the Diamondbacks and Shane Greene will be heading to the Tigers. WFAN’s Sweeny Murti first reported the potential framework and noted that Greene would head to Detroit if the deal were to be completed. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic first tweeted that Ray could be headed to Arizona.
Here’s what else you need to know about the three-way deal:
- Like you, I’m dreading Yankee radio announcer John Sterling’s call of a Gregorius home run. (Let’s all hope Didi doesn’t hit more than a handful.) My guess: ”That wasn’t just gorgeous. It was GREGORIUS!”
- Is this Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski’s way of saying to Detroit fans ”My bad?” for dealing away Doug Fister, one of the game’s top starters, to the Nationals for peanuts (i.e., Ray and two other disposable parts)? By acquiring Greene, he’s acknowledging that the Tigers, soon to lose superstar Max Scherzer, are desperate for ready-to-contribute starting pitching.
- On a related note: In addition to relinquishing Ray, Dombro had to part too with a highly-regarded middle-infielder prospect, Domingo Layba. The 19-year-old switch hitter will join Ray in the desert.
- The willingness to part with Greene suggests that Yankees GM Brian Cashman is pretty confident he’ll bag one of the starting-pitcher elephants on the free-agent market, presumably Scherzer.
- From a poster at Baseball Think Factory: “Remember when [former Diamondbacks GM] Kevin Towers said that Gregorius reminded him of a young Derek Jeter? Someone was listening.” Response from a poster at BTF: “Didi’s bat reminds me of an old Derek Jeter.” Zing!
More here.