Last season, Curtis Granderson peppered baseballs into the right field seats of Yankee Stadium with ease.

Granderson, the former Tigers centerfielder, recorded career highs of 41 home runs and 119 RBI, earned his second All-Star appearance and finished fourth in American League MVP voting.

But if not for the Red Sox balking at the Tigers' asking price in 2009, Granderson very well could have been peppering balls off the Green Monster at Fenway Park.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that before the three-team deal that sent Granderson to the Yankees in December 2009, the Red Sox were very much interested in his services.

Daniel Barbarasi wrote that the Tigers asked Boston for centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and right-handed starter Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox declined, the teams discussed a straight Granderson-for-Ellsbury swap, nothing came to fruition, and Granderson was placed in pinstripes.

"We thought he was a guy who might have been undervalued a little," said former Red Sox and current Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein.

According to the Journal, the Red Sox thought Granderson's output could be maximized more in a hitter's park -- which it was -- but never thought the Tigers' homegrown talent could make such a drastic improvement hitting left-handed pitching -- which he did.

Granderson, who turns 31 on March 16, hit .210 against lefties in 2004-09 with the Tigers. He batted .272 against lefties last season.

"I don't think we necessarily expected that there would be this kind of transition," Epstein said.

In hindsight, the Red Sox shouldn't be disappointed with not executing the trade.

Ellsbury is only 28 and finished second in MVP voting to Tigers ace Justin Verlander.