Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton told reporters that he doesn't expect to be back with the club in 2012, according to Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune.
“I hope not, but I don’t see why I wouldn’t be with all the talks at the deadline, and with this [waiver claim], I don’t see why there wouldn’t be that possibility,” the 27-year-old said. “I don’t want to go anywhere, but if that’s what they want to do it’s out of my hands.”
This morning it was reported that Upton was claimed off of trade waivers by an unknown team. Upon hearing the news, Upton said that he wasn't concerned about it and appropriately termed the move "business as usual". Rays Executive Vice President Andrew Friedman would neither confirm nor deny the report.
Lunchbox45
It should take an impeding fa middle of the rotation starter, 2 bullpen pieces and corey patterson, or less to acquire BJ upton
Isaac
Bryce Harper for Shields and upton?
NatsTown
GTFO
Isaac
Bryce Harper for Shields and upton?
Dude Solarsystem
One of the biggest doggers in baseball deserves probably half of that.
Brian M
I’m sure the Rays really don’t care what Upton thinks. He loafed his way out of town. Talented ballplayer that could really care less!
buddaley
Absolutely untrue. Upton is an extremely hard worker and dedicated ball player. A few isolated instances have been exaggerated and in the minds of many who know nothing about the situation defines Upton for them. It is an image, not the reality.
Brian M
His stats as an underperforming player certainly don’t lie. Rays aren’t dumb, they won’t pay a superstar’s price for mediocrity.
buddaley
I haven’t said he has performed up to expectations. There have been holes in his game, and especially with Jennings in the majors, it is likely the Rays will deal him.
But they will not be dealing him because they are dissatisfied with his effort. On the contrary, he is universally liked in the clubhouse and organization for his character and hard work. Rather, the Rays need to use resources wisely, and he is probably more valuable for what he can bring back to the team in a trade than he would be at the salary he would command.
He has been somewhat better than mediocre, but is clearly not performing as a superstar, which was an expectation of many. But again, distinguish between performance and loafing.
Brian M
I disagree. If they were satisfied with his effort and play, they’d want him. They clearly don’t want him and that is saying something. Simply put, if upton were at all worth keeping, the Rays would keep him.
CyYoungSuppan
Disagree with you here. How many good players have the Rays let go that were worth keeping? I don’t know if I have enough fingers to count them all.
Lunchbox45
If they were satisfied with his effort and play, they’d want him. They
clearly don’t want him and that is saying something. Simply put, if
upton were at all worth keeping, the Rays would keep him.
oh… you mean like matt garza or carl crawford??
yah, you may disagree, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are completely wrong
bla
Underperforming, bad reputation, questions about his work ethic, big time potential, sounds like he’ll go to the Jays for Litch, Davis, and some other crap.
notsureifsrs
andrew friedman may have ninja immunity
Lunchbox45
substitute may for definitely has
notsureifsrs
andrew friedman may have ninja immunity
JacksTigers
So he could care less? Which means that he at least cares a little.
alfredo espinoza
to the white sox for gavin floyd, pierre, and bullpen guy for upton
Fifty_Five
Just because you don’t want them, that doesn’t mean the Rays will. The only thing somewhat appealing to the Rays there would be the bullpen guy, depending on who he is
JacksTigers
Does that sound realistic to you?
E29-White_Sox
It pains me to call myself a White Sox fan with some of the homers floating around… 🙁 Let’s just trade De Aza for Hellickson while we are at it.
No way we get Upton with the likes of Rios/Pierre still lurking.
Glebb
Power stroke hasnt developed consistently, will steal less bases as the years go on, contract will get larger, and has a known record of loafing.
I love upton but he has no future place on the rays.
Dynasty22
Well he does need a change of scenery.
kimofromkauai
No team will give anything of value for Upton. His salary far exceeds his production, which is mostly defense. Likely that the waiver will be withdrawn but there was no luck getting anything of value for him in July and this winter will probably be the same. TB has a smart front office but it will be a miracle of Biblical proportions if they can get anything substantial for Upton.
Ryan Gale
Th Nats have had an interest in him for a while, and they are willing to overpay, so its not that far out to say the rays could get something decent for him.
optionn
I agree. For some reason fans are enamored with BJ. Dude is battin 219. I mean he is ok, but of course the Rays will get rid of him before next year. The numbers speak for themselves Too much salary- look at way Jennings has done already? Guy is outproducing BJ after a few short months.
Dynasty22
BJ should get Justin Upton sized. It works for him.
EastCoastBias
A Change Of Scenery Would Be Great For Him.
JacksTigers
I say that Phillies. It’s time for Ibanez to go and if Charlie Manuel can’t whip him into shape, then I don’t know who can.
Isaac
Do You really think he made it that far?
Isaac
Do You really think he made it that far?
Chris
ummmmmmm, why? Victorino? Pence? Dom Brown? Dom Brown is probably more talented and MUCH cheaper than Upton.
I would say the Braves, but the Rays don’t need pitching.
TimotheusATL
Would love to see him wearing a tomahawk. However, we insist on keeping the golden boy Heyward on the 25-man.
Glebb
Ouch, the honeymoon with Heyward is already done?
Tsk Tsk
TimotheusATL
made of glass, left handed, and not producing. he needs to get his head on straight.
Daniel Kirby
you should get your head on straight.
TimotheusATL
care to counter my argument instead of going straight for the ad hominem with no backing, or are you just a bad troll?
angryredmenace
Exactly how can one counter nonsense? Unless there is another meaning to “he needs to get his head on straight”.And removing Heyward from the 25 man roster to bring in Upton, is that a joke? Heyward is a 22 year old experiencing a sophomore slump while B.J. Upton is a 27 old in his fifth full major league season with number that are only slightly better than heyward’s.What would be the point of bringing in upton to take heyward’s spot on the 20 man roster for slighty better performance.
TimotheusATL
*sigh* okay, I’ll try this again.
Heyward’s problems at the plate are caused by a hyperactive batting stance and an incredibly long swing. Uggla had similar problems at the beginning of the year, looking as if he was jumping out of his shoes to swing at anything that came anywhere near the plate. If you’ve noticed, Uggla’s stance has quieted considerably, allowing him to better control the strike zone. Heyward, however, refuses to change anything (somewhat reminiscent of Andruw Jones’ final year in ATL), which completely prevents him from covering the outside corner and even the inside corner due to the looping hole caused by the long swing. Fangraphs backs my argument up on this — he’s swinging more, making less contact, and is far less effective against virtually every type of pitch (except the knuckleball, and I don’t think any Phillies pitchers will be throwing those in the playoffs).
Also, Heyward has options, and has been relegated to part-time play due to the emergence of Jose Constanza. You’re not DFA’ing him or anything like that. If anything, if you needed to clear a spot on the 40-man, you’d DFA a waste of a roster spot like Julio Lugo. Part-time play is not going to help Heyward fix his issues.
Heyward WAR this year = 0.9
Upton WAR this year = 1.9
And you won’t lose anything on defense. Upton essentially has Heyward’s field coverage with a slightly stronger arm.
And, again, he’s right-handed in an overwhelmingly left-handed lineup.
And FURTHERMORE, if you want to tender Upton a contract for next year, you can keep both him and Heyward, since McLouth will (thankfully) be gone!
Bear in mind that you’re in a playoff race. Last year’s numbers mean nothing.
Hopefully that’s enough explanation of nonsense, unless that’s just what you call opinions that disagree with yours.
Chris
he’s been hurt. Why on earth are you giving up on a 21 year old who’s had a shoulder injury. That was Justin Upton last year and he never had an OBP around .400 when he was a rookie.
some of you need to chill out. Heyward’s gonna be fine.
Daniel Kirby
he’s 21…
TimotheusATL
care to counter my argument instead of going straight for the ad hominem with no backing, or are you just a bad troll?
Daniel Kirby
you should get your head on straight.
jwredsox
And he already has a season better than Upton has ever had
TimotheusATL
They don’t count last year’s stats in this year’s playoffs.
I’m not suggesting replacing Heyward forever, as argued above.
Glebb
Ouch, the honeymoon with Heyward is already done?
Tsk Tsk