National baseball writers seemed to be going crazy today (especially on Twitter) chasing Edwin Jackson rumors and mentions throughout the lobby at the Indianapolis Marriott. (Fanhouse's Ed Price was particularly notable with his trade rumor hokey-pokey.)
But one rumor that appears to be picking up steam, based on what several reporters are hearing, is that the Arizona Diamondbacks are emerging as a front-runner in pursuit of Jackson.
The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro believes the D-Backs are "making a very strong push," though haven't made much progress. Max Scherzer would presumably be the key piece coming to Detroit. But one big problem is that Scherzer is under team control for five more seasons, two of which would be under the league minimum. Jackson has two more years before free agency, but will be paid handsomely over the next two seasons (perhaps as much $15 million).
So to make this happen, a third team might have to get involved. And as Matthew Pouliot writes at Circling the Bases, this is why Curtis Granderson has been linked with Jackson in several of these recent trade rumors.
So how might a deal work? A third team would probably have to be involved. Scherzer would have to be attractive to the Tigers, perhaps attractive enough to get them to part with Curtis Granderson as well. Maybe if the Cubs sent Angel Guzman to Detroit and Sean Marshall and a prospect or two to Arizona? The Angels want Granderson as well and would be another team that could get involved.
Yes, there's a bit too much "maybe" in there, and this is largely the sort of speculation that's gotten a bit tiresome over the past month. But it also goes toward explaining what the Tigers are trying to accomplish, and what kinds of negotiations may be going on, especially now that these general managers are face-to-face at the Winter Meetings.