INDIANAPOLIS — From all indications, the Detroit Tigers have agreed to a three-team deal in which they’d send centerfielder Curtis Granderson to the Yankees and right-hander Edwin Jackson to Arizona.

The trade would reduce the Tigers’ payroll by millions for the next few years. According to foxsports.com and cbssports.com, the deal would bring the Tigers the following four players, all young, low-priced and years away from free agency:
—Arizona right-handed starting pitcher Max Scherzer. In his first full big-league season, Scherzer went 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA. He throws hard — 95-96 m.p.h. with movement. The Diamondbacks have had concerns about his durability and his ability to develop a third pitch to go with his fastball and change-up.
—Yankees left-handed reliever Phil Coke. He struggled with home runs this season: 10 allowed in his 60 innings. He was the Yankees’ No. 1 lefty reliever early, then fell behind Damaso Marte.
—Yankees minor league centerfielder Austin Jackson. He has never played in the majors, but he played this year at the top level of the minors, Triple-A. Jackson, who bats right-handed, has yet to develop as a power hitter. Would the Tigers play him regularly in center next season as a rookie?
—Arizona left-handed reliever Daniel Schlereth. His stuff is tremendous: a fastball up to 94 m.p.h., and a curve described as knee-buckling. At times, he has struggled to command his fastball.
The trade hadn’t been announced as of 3 p.m., apparently because Arizona officials hadn’t completed a review of medical records of the players they’d receive. In addition to Jackson, Arizona reportedly would receive right-handed pitcher Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.
Tigers management believes it must reduce the payroll for next season in part because the club will be hit anew by the economic woes of Detroit and Michigan.
However, several Tigers will be in the final season of expensive contracts next season. With Granderson and Jackson also departing, the Tigers figure to have plenty of payroll flexibility in 2011 and beyond.
This three-way deal will make the Tigers’ pitching better. But the Tigers will have to construct a new offense. They will enter the season without the top two hitters in the lineup from recent seasons: Granderson and Placido Polanco, who departed as a free agent. He is due to be replaced at second by rookie Scott Sizemore.
Granderson would displace Melky Cabrera as centerfielder on the Yankees. Cabrera, a 25-year-old switch-hitter, batted .274 last season but had just 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 10 steals.
Granderson, a left-handed batter, was a first-time All-Star last season, when he had 30 homers, 71 RBIs and 20 steals. His batting average has dropped from .302 in 2007 to .280 in 2008 to .249 last year.
Coke, 27, was 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 72 relief appearances. While he pitched 1°scoreless innings in the AL playoffs, he gave up two runs over 1°innings in the World Series. Granderson was the first batter Coke faced in the majors. He struck him out Sept. 1, 2008, at Comerica Park.
Austin Jackson, 22, is considered one of the Yankees’ top prospects. He hit .300 last season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with 23 doubles, four homers, 65 RBIs and 24 steals.
Scherzer, the 11th overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft, is a 25-year-old righty who went 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA in 30 starts for Arizona last season, striking out 174 in 170°innings.
Schlereth, a 23-year-old lefty, was the 26th pick in the 2008 amateur draft. He made his major league debut this year and went 1-4 with a 5.89 ERA in 21 relief appearances with 22 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings. He is the son of former NFL offensive lineman and current ESPN football analyst Mark Schlereth.