Respect from teammates clear as Granderson is traded by Blue Jays

Curtis Granderson had nothing but good things to say about his time in Toronto and how much he appreciated the fan support.

MIAMI – A glimpse of the respect others carry for Curtis Granderson came in an exuberant post-victory Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse, when manager John Gibbons called his team together and informed them the beloved outfielder was headed to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 37-year-old was quickly engulfed by hugs from his teammates. Walking out the clubhouse door while Granderson was speaking with media, Marco Estrada tapped his heart and pointed to the classy veteran while wishing him well.

Canadian outfielder Demi Orimoloye, an athletic fourth-round draft pick in 2015 who starred for the junior national team currently and currently plays at high-A Carolina, is headed to the Blue Jays in exchange.

"I was surprised," Granderson said of being pulled from a post-game meal by GM Ross Atkins to be told of the trade. "You hear a lot of rumblings about things and like I’ve said to reporters, no reason to get worked up until something happens. But then also excited, getting a chance to go to a team that has the possibility of getting to the playoffs and going deep. They’ve been playing very well from the things I’ve been seeing. They also made some other moves, so super excited to join them."

Granderson signed a $5 million, one-year deal with the Blue Jays this off-season. He collected a pinch-hit single in Friday’s 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins and remained in the dugout, engaged with his teammates the whole night.

"It was great," Granderson said of his time in Toronto. "It was everything I imagined it to be outside of the fact that we didn’t necessarily play to the point that we wanted to. Baseball is going to be like that sometimes, you’re going to have injuries, you’re going to get hot and get cold and other teams are going to be better or play worse than expected. My time was great there. I always said even before I came that Toronto was one of my favourite road cities to go to and being there full-time, really cool. The fans were amazing, team was amazing, front office, all the way up and down, couldn’t have asked for a better situation from last off-season to where I am right now."

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