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MLB WINTER MEETINGSDecember 9, 2009Josh ByrnesBrian CashmanDavid DombrowskiINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA MICHAEL TEEVAN: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. With us today we have Josh Byrnes, executive vice president and general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Dave Dombrowski, the president and CEO of the Detroit Tigers; Brian Cashman, senior vice president of the New York Yankees; and. Three teams made trades in which the Diamondbacks will receive right-handed pitcher, Edwin Jackson and right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy; the Yankees will receive outfielder Curtis Granderson, and the Tigers will receive right-handed pitcher Max Sherzer, left-handed pitcher Daniel Schlereth, and left-handed pitcher Phil Coke, and outfielder Austin Jackson. Q. Can the three of you give a little sense for how this evolved, time frames, and the rough chronology of it? DAVE DOMBROWSKI: I guess I'll start since we had the most players involved here, acquired the most. I remember we were just making our phone calls and sort of talking. Going back, it would be a good month or so ago. Before Thanksgiving, I know that for sure. I was just calling around and talking to Josh, and they had expressed some interest in Edwin Jackson. We had some people from the Yankees express interest in Curtis Granderson. As we talked through it, those two had been talking, also, and I think Josh picked up the phone and called Brian. All of a sudden, about the next Monday, we started talking. That was three weeks, four weeks ago. That's really how it kind of started. We had a lot of conversations, numerous conversations, over that time period. Some of them, me and Josh, some of them with Brian and myself, some of them with those two. I don't think until we got here did the three of us sit together in the same room or get on the same phone call. Q. Can you just explain the trade from the Tigers' standpoint, please? DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Sure. First of all, when you look at our situation, you know, we gave up a couple of real good players, no doubt. But we were in a position where we just need to, based upon our situation right now, make some adjustments that we feel we needed to make. With that, we are going to make those adjustments. We are going to make sure that if we made deals, that they were going to bring back quality talent. Because when you talk about players like this, you don't want to make a deal and come back and not like the players a great deal. So for us, it really came down to we were going to make a deal. We had a lot of interest, which you would expect, in Curtis and in Edwin. It came down to that we were going to need a young starting pitcher to step into the rotation, and we were also going to need a young centerfielder and then to go from there. Because if we traded those two, we thought it was imperative to do that. We are also trying to stay competitive, to try to win, and also to set ourselves up for the future. So in this case, that's what our thought process was going on behind it. We could identify certain teams and players. We had a lot of clubs call on these guys, but we were not in a position that we were going to take three guys, even though we liked them in AAA ball, that were a while away from the Major Leagues. So when you look at young centerfielders, for example, there's not very many of them in baseball that are ready to step in. We think that Austin Jackson is. We like him a lot. In the case of Arizona, they were able to satisfy us with Max Scherzer. But there had to be a lot of moving pieces between all of the clubs to satisfy everybody. So that's really our situation. We got some good, young talent that we think helps us win this year, helps us for the future, and also helps us make some adjustments that we need to make. Q. Knowing that you could get the two pieces that you most wanted in the trade, how important was Daniel Schlereth to making it happen? DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, it was important. We like him a lot. He was a player a couple of years ago when we were drafting in 2008, and looking at Ryan Perry at that time. I remember David Schlereth in the scouting staff said in the meeting that he was a player we were considering taking with our first pick at that time. So we like him a great deal. Of course we went with Ryan Perry. So he was important for us. But also, it was apparent with Josh, in this case, he was going to need to get two starters if he was going to give him up, and Ian Kennedy was very important for Arizona. It wasn't like he was just going to give him to us as part of the deal. There was going to be a lot of discussions about it because he's a very talented guy. Arizona is blessed with some good arms on the left-hand side, but it was important. Q. Can you talk about the trade from the Diamondbacks' perspective? JOSH BYRNES: Well, one thing we have maintained in the last several years is trying to have as strong a rotation as we can, and applying our resources to that. In our division, it seems that the starting pitching is usually very strong in the winter as top-end starting pitching. So for us to enter into any trade like that and give up Max Scherzer who is a very talented young starter, we feel like we needed to bring in two starters back. Obviously Edwin Jackson has two years of free agency and Max Scherzer has five, so it's a tricky equation because we have to be mindful of costs in any deal. But ultimately, in the short term, putting together as strong a club as we can, building a new rotation, first, we feel like it was a move that improves us now; in the long term, we know that we have six years of controlling. Q. What specifically appealed to you about Austin Jackson? It sounds like you think he can step in right now in the Major Leagues? DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, we are counting on him to make our Big League club. We have scouted him very thoroughly. He's a talented youngster. He's been that way for a long time. He's a quality prospect. I guess until people make it, they are still prospects. But he's a guy -- he's about as sure a guy as you can have. He's a good, defensive centerfielder, has good instincts, runs the bases well, and has got some speed. He's a guy that is a tremendous athlete. He hit .300 last year, and he has continued to improve throughout his career. So we think he's ready to step in. I'm sure, like any young player, Jim Leyland breaks in young players as well as anybody. You don't throw them to the wolves right away. You give them some breaks with certain types of pitching. But we feel he's ready to step up and he's ready to play at the Big League level. Q. You've been hesitant to talk about the Minor League talent. What was it about Granderson that made you decide you would trade Jackson for the other guys? BRIAN CASHMAN: If Josh and David agree with me, I'm hesitant -- I'm probably the last one trying to get through this, because I have been very protective of young talent, and I think for good reason. I think Oppenheimer has done a fantastic job of getting these three guys right out of our draft that Phil Coke just won a championship and Austin Jackson's right there. I have said no to him on so many deals along the way. And, you know, Ian Kennedy is -- he's going to be a guy that's going to provide quality innings and wins, and I think is in a perfect situation now with Arizona. So it was hard for me to do that, both for the depth that they provide, the insurance, the cost control, their ability, and what they object to be. But in this particular case, we are coming off a situation right now where we have two guys right now that are free agents, Matsui and our left fielder, Johnny Damon, that right off the bat is somewhere in the 50 home run range coming right out of our lineup. So when you learn that there is a potential opportunity to bring in a premium position player, here is a centerfielder that's an above-average centerfielder with power: Hitting 30 home runs in that ballpark; left-handed bat; loves batting in Yankee Stadium; he's athletic. It's one of those things where you really look hard at it. We had a lot of discussion. It did take a long time, a lot of creativity by the people here at this table to pull it off. So he's an exceptional character guy, too. So the clubhouse, which is big in New York obviously because there's a lot more that comes around with being a player in this game -- but playing in New York with all of the added attention, that's certainly important to have as part of it. So when you broke down Granderson and what he brought to the table from the offensive to the defensive, the personality side, it made me think real hard, mainly because internally what we potentially are losing and having to replace, this guy can step in right in place and he can step in right now as a hitter and do it, versus giving more time for the other guys to step up and get it done. But it was a hard decision to make. We are excited about what we are getting, and we are distraught about what we gave up at the same time. Q. Will this move keep you from bringing back Damon and Matsui? BRIAN CASHMAN: Not necessarily. We are still fluid in our discussions. It gives us comfort right now to know that we have solved a big part of at least some part of our offense that was vulnerable. We have great offense as it is. But obviously when you have the potential of losing Matsui and Johnny Damon, right now they are having conversations and now being able to secure somewhat the stability of Granderson, so it gives you more of a comfort level that we have it taken care of, that it's not as bad as it was an hour ago before sitting at this podium. We feel like we are more lined up as we move forward. But the next few decisions we make are just as important overall to 2010 and beyond, whatever they may be. I'll still be engaged with teams and I'll still be engaged with agents. We are continuing to try to reshape this thing. We have a very athletic outfield, and obviously with Swisher and Melky and Gardner, Granderson, all of those guys can play every position, switching mostly to the left and right side, and played centerfield for the White Sox a few years ago. They have a lot of flexibility for us, and the Granderson piece is something we are excited about and happy to be bringing him aboard. Q. Curtis is obviously a very popular figure in Detroit. You've been in a position in the past to trade popular players in certain cities. How difficult is it to keep that part of the equation out of any sort of trade consideration, and how much do you prepare yourself for the initial reaction that's going to happen in Detroit? DAVE DOMBROWSKI: Well, it's very difficult. When I talked to him on the phone today, I said it was one of the more difficult phone calls I've made in my career. He is -- you've all seen his ability, and it speaks for itself. He's a very good player, but he's as quality a human being as you'll find. He is an individual that's meant a lot to our franchise, a lot to the city, to the state, and he's been a Tiger, so it's very tough, very difficult conversation. I know he's well loved, and it's deserved. But it's also one of those things -- I told him. He understood. We are making some adjustments and it's a business decision, and hopefully we are bringing in people that people will fall in love with. When you trade players, and having gone through this for a while, that are known for the unknown, it's never a popular move with your fans. There will be some people that like those moves -- but then you have to make good decisions. We haven't done this very much since I've been in Detroit, but this has been done a lot in my career. It's amazing. You can make good decisions on young players and their abilities; you can shape the franchise and help it very well for the future. But, you have to be willing to take the criticisms and the pains that are attached to the media. And in Curtis' case, being with the organization much longer than Edwin, but also following the individual, you have to make those decisions and be prepared for it. MICHAEL TEEVAN: Thank you, very much. End of FastScripts |
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