The Los Angeles Dodgers made a stunning move prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline by acquiring Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers, and they provided another stunner on Friday night in trading for Curtis Granderson.
Granderson was along with cash considerations, with the New York Mets due to receive cash or a player to be named later. The trade brought Granderson’s tenure with the Mets to an end after nearly four full seasons.
The Mets signed Granderson in December 2013 to a four-year, $60 million contract. The 36-year-old was among multiple Mets players who cleared waivers earlier this month, which made a trade with any team a plausible scenario.
After being informed of the trade, Granderson spoke with media inside the clubhouse at Citi Field to reflect on his time with the Mets and look ahead to joining the Dodgers, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com:
Curtis Granderson says goodbye to the Mets. pic.twitter.com/OipEsTYWBC
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 19, 2017
Granderson batted .239/.341/.444 with 106 doubles, 12 triples, 95 home runs and 247 RBI in 573 games with the Mets. He’s quietly had a productive 2017 campaign and is hitting .276/.399/.603 with 13 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs and 38 RBI in 71 games since May 21.
The veteran outfielder is owed just shy of $4 million for the remainder of this season, the final year of his contract. While Granderson further complicates the Dodgers’ outfielder picture, he’s a candidate to lead off and provides another veteran presence.
Los Angeles has yet to announce a corresponding move in order to place Granderson on their 25-man active roster.
