While the Beckett trade talks can now die down that he is on the Boston Red Sox, it's still fun to look back on what happened leading up to the trade. Earlier I posted that the Tigers were one of the teams interested in Beckett, and apparently that was true. What I didn't know, however, was what the Marlins were wanting to get in return for the 25 year old Beckett. According to Ken Rosenthal, it was quite a bit:
The Tigers never were serious players for Josh Beckett, but they were one of the handful of clubs that the Marlins approached at the GM meetings about a possible Beckett-Mike Lowell package. The Marlins wanted center fielder Curtis Granderson and top pitching prospect Justin Verlander. The Tigers also had interest in center fielder Juan Pierre. The talks failed to progress.
Count me in as one of the group that is glad that trade didn't go down. Granderson is seen by many as the future star of the Tigers outfield, and we all know the prospects of Justin Verlander after the impressive campaign he put up last year in the minor leagues. Beckett is good, but I like the Tigers commitment to building from the ground up here.