Today in a Nutshell

The Detroit Tigers are selling off assets like Michael Jackson but the club may be better off doing it.

To summarize: In a blockbuster deal, the New York Yankees get Curtis Granderson, the Arizona Diamondbacks get Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, and the Tigers get Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Austin Jackson, and Phil Coke.

Basically this equates to the Tigers giving up their lead-off hitter and No. 2 starter for a top-flight center field prospect, a potential mid-range starter and a couple of bullpen guys that could be key if they continue to improve.

In theory it would seem the trade absolutely crippled a team on the brink of an AL Central title in 2009 and empowered the defending champions.

Not so fast my friend.

Let's break this down team by team starting with the Yankees. New York traded a bullpen arm, a former highly-rated pitching prospect and a 5-star stud prospect center fielder for Granderson.

All the pieces were expendable for the Yankees with the exception of Jackson. Coke is a mid-reliever and Kennedy recently had surgery so there wasn't a whole lot to think about on their side of the deal.

New York is always in a win-now mode and this trade was made for 2010, not further down the line where Jackson becomes a cheaper, better version of Granderson.

Arizona was another key player in this triangle deal sending two young promising pitchers in Scherzer and Schlereth to the Tigers in exchange for Edwin Jackson and busted Yankee prospect Kennedy.

Kennedy offers good buy-low value as a back of the rotation starter but does Jackson really springboard this team into a legit NL West contender?

It's a start in the right direction but this trade doesn't improve a brutal team that drastically. Then again it depends on what you think of Scherzer's potential. Is he an ace-in-waiting or a future closer who has been mechanics and a tendency to walk a lot of people.

It's too early to tell about all this but that's why I saved Detroit for last because I think it won this deal.

Granderson hit a career worst .249 in 2009 with a sub-par on-base percentage of .327. He continued to play great defense and his 30 home runs were a career high.

But who is the real Granderson? Will he return to being one of the top-tier lead-off men in baseball for the Yankees or will he be tempted to use the left field launching pad to boost his already bloated home run numbers at the expense of batting average?

That remains to be seen but the haul the Tigers received for him and Jackson is pretty darn good. They received an immediate boost to the bullpen with the addition of Coke and while Scherzer and Schlereth are pretty raw, they provide an enormous amount of upside.

Couple those players with their center fielder of the future (Jackson) and you have a win for Detroit.

Will those youngsters be able to contribute out of the gate in 2010?

That's the question on the mind of Tigers fans wondering if these moves were made as part of a fire sale or a Florida Marlins like plan of selling high.

Physicals pending, of course.

(Ed. Note: Did someone say fire sale? If so, you can't go wrong with a burning Detroit photo...)