In the deal, the Royals are reportedly acquiring Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar and pitching prospects Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress for the 27-year-old Greinke, 10-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 2010 after winning the 2009 Cy Young.This deal is, in my mind, about quantity over quality. The Royals were seeking up the middle talent and pitching, and they settled for a sampler of sorts. Given the depth of their farm system, it certainly makes sense to target certain positions (as opposed to asking for the best possible talent), but it still seems as if they settled when they really didn't have to.
While reading about this deal, it became apparent to me that the Yankees were simply not interested in Greinke. A very rough equivalent deal would be Brett Gardner, Eduardo Nunez, Adam Warren, and Andrew Brackman, and perhaps another middle infield piece (David Adams or Corban Joseph) - sure, that's a lot of talent, but they'd also retain their top four or five prospects (depending on how you feel about Brackman). The greatest difference between the two offers is the gap between Escobar and Nunez, which I believe the Yankees could have overcome in offering better pitching. That is entirely speculative, however, and the Royals search for trade partners could have hinged entirely on the shortstop position.