Yanks trade for Granderson; Cards complete deal with Penny

INDIANAPOLIS -- Instead of spending at these winter meetings, the New York Yankees are in a dealing mode.

The World Series champions pulled off the first big trade of this year's session, reaching a tentative agreement Tuesday on a three-team, seven-player swap that would bring them All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit.

New York would trade right-hander Ian Kennedy to Arizona, and lefty reliever Phil Coke and outfield prospect Austin Jackson to Detroit, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.

Detroit would ship All-Star pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks, and Arizona would send touted young pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to the Tigers. The teams were still working on technical aspects of the trade, the official said, including checking medical records.

Seattle finalized its $36 million, four-year contract with Chone Figgins, who is likely to become the Mariners' third baseman and No. 2 hitter behind leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki. St. Louis completed a $7.5 million, one-year deal with pitcher Brad Penny, who joins a rotation that includes Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

Penny went a combined 11-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 30 starts for Boston and San Francisco last season. He recently turned down a one-year offer to stay with the Giants.

Penny helped Florida win the 2003 World Series, although Cardinals manager Tony La Russa already had his eye on the burly right-hander. That season, St. Louis and the Marlins began sharing a spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla.

"Whenever a guy faces you and you're not happy when he gets announced, you always think, 'Boy, it would be nice to get him on your side,"' La Russa said. "So I'm going back to the Marlin days of spring training, that season and ever since. He's a guy that we thought would be a real good starter for our side."

The top of St. Louis' rotation is strong with Carpenter and Wainwright. But the Cardinals were facing the loss of free-agent starters Joel Pineiro, John Smoltz and Todd Wellemeyer.

"Brad Penny has long been a pitcher of interest to us and we are thrilled to have him," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. "By teaming Brad with our Cy Young finalists Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, in addition to Kyle Lohse, we feel that our pitching staff will continue to be a key cornerstone for the ballclub."

The 31-year-old Penny has spent most of his career in the National League. He was an All-Star in 2006 and 2007, winning a career-high 16 games each season.

The three-team trade was the big news of the day. The speedy Granderson would displace Melky Cabrera as center fielder on the Yankees. A left-handed batter who could benefit from Yankee Stadium's short porch, Granderson was a first-time All-Star last season, when he had 30 homers, 71 RBIs and 20 steals.