Mets trade Curtis Granderson to Dodgers

The Dodgers have acquired outfielder Curtis Granderson and cash considerations from the Mets in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com first reported that a deal was in place late Friday night.

Granderson, 36, was stuck behind Yoenis Cepedes, Jay Bruce, and Michael Conforto for a solid chunk of this season in New York, but he’s had a pretty good season nonetheless. In 395 plate appearances, Granderson has a .228/.334/.481 slash line with 19 homers, and he’s seen action at all three outfield positions.

Over 14 big-league seasons, Granderson is a .254/.340/.474 hitter and has 312 home runs in 1,760 plate appearances. Along with Chase Utley, he’ll be one of the most experienced playoff performers on the Dodgers’ roster, as he’s played in 51 postseason games, hitting .239/.339/.457 with nine homers over 222 PAs in the playoffs.

Granderson will join an already-crowded contingent of Dodgers outfielders. Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig have been near-everyday starters at the corners for the past several months as Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernandez have shared time in center, but with veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez being activated from the DL on Friday, rookie Cody Bellinger is expected to shift back to left field. Veteran Andre Ethier, who played in just 16 games last year and has missed the entirety of this season with a lumbar disk herniation, is currently on a rehab assignment and may also return soon.

Most of Granderson’s value will be derived from his ability to pinch hit and serve as a defensive replacement, but he could eat into the playing time of Pederson and Hernandez in center field while also providing rest for Taylor, Puig, and Bellinger over the season’s final six weeks.