Curtis Granderson made his big league debut in September 2004 with the Detroit Tigers and played six seasons with them. He hit 30 homers and stole 20 bases during his final season in the Motor City in 2009. In December of that year, a three-team trade was struck between the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks.
New York sent lefty reliever Phil Coke and young outfielder Austin Jackson to Detroit. They also dealt young right-handed starter Ian Kennedy to the Diamondbacks to procure Granderson.
The Yankees had just come off their 27th World Series title, and the addition of Granderson gave fans high hopes of a repeat in 2010.