With the Diamondbacks in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, there has been no shortage of trade buzz about the former No. 1 overall draft pick. While the Braves and Yankees are reportedly not interested in Upton, teams as the Red Sox, Rangers and Rays are, though the Rays ironically can't make a serious push until Justin's brother B.J. rejects Tampa Bay's qualifying offer, though he is expected to do so by tomorrow.
Here's the latest about Upton from around the league, with the newest items at the top of the page…
- With input from rival executives, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic lists the Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers and Braves as the top five possible suitors for Upton, with the Pirates and Royals as darkhorse candidates.
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro) that despite some rumors to the contrary, he has had "zero issues" with Upton from a character standpoint. Towers is in "no rush" to make a deal for Upton and said that a potential trade won't prevent him from making other offseason moves. With starting pitching at such a premium in the game, Towers doubted the Snakes would be able to obtain a top pitcher "even in an Upton deal." (All links are to Piecoro's Twitter account.)
- The Rangers aren't willing to include either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar in a deal for Upton, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link), which will likely end trade talks between Texas and Arizona.
- The Red Sox are currently on Upton's four-team no-trade list, though he is willing to waive that protection in Boston's case, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).
- The D'Backs would take a "good young starter" as the "centerpiece" of an Upton trade, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Tigers are doing background work on Upton, tweets Nick Piecoro, though the Tigers may not have yet "talked specifics" with the D'Backs.
- "Don't expect" the Blue Jays to acquire Upton, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
D-Backs need a “young pitcher” and third base. Tigers have to be the favorites with Castellanos and Smyly, right? Though, the question is if the Tigers would pull the trigger.
Middlebrooks, Webster, Brentz
I wouldn’t send them Middlebrooks and Webster. I would send them Middlebrooks in a trade, or I would send them one of the top pitching prospects (Barnes/Webster/RDLR) in a trade, but I wouldn’t send them both. Boston’s biggest issue is-and-has-been starting pitching, so they really need to hang on to all of the good young pitching they can. If that means they don’t get Upton then so be it, but I’d value their young pitching more than I would outfield help – even elite young outfield help like Upton.
I’m surprised the Dbacks want pitching at all. Who would you be cmfortable packaging with Middlebrooks and Brentz?
Where’d my comment go?
Anyway, I’d add anyone outside of their top five prospects other than Henry Owens, even if it meant sending two of them instead of just one. I’d also consider sending Middlebrooks and Doubront even though Doubront is a good young pitcher because he doesn’t have the upside that guys like Webster, Barnes, and RDLR have.
I also kind of wonder about the idea of sending Lester or Buchholz as part of a trade for Upton and Bauer together.
Dude you’re not getting Upton without Boegarts going to the D-Backs. Doubrant, Middlebrooks? C’mon man. I’m 100% sure Upton will take a step foward after this year. I’m thinking Boegarts, and a few lower level guys with upside. It would take profar from the Rangers. If you’re not offering that than Upton is staying put.
Maybe, but I still wouldn’t give them Bogaerts for him.
Those are just claims.
Maybe Cecchini, Brentz, and Ranaudo. If its those 3 the Sox would walk for sure.
Those are borderline prospects.
Cecchini was on Sickels’ midseason Top 120, Brentz profiles as a 20 HR hitter even with his high K rate, and Ranaudo is a project but still has a high ceiling.
It’s probably not something AZ would want but they think Upton is worth more than he is. That’s why Texas has no interest in trading Andrus for Upton.
Not that you’re cherry picking and obfuscating at all…
Cecchini is a legitimate prospect (even though sickles is rubbish), but Brentz and Ranaudo are filler. Yes, they have upside. Just like every prospect ever. That doesn’t make them valuable trade chips.
Brentz is more than filler, but he’s not anywhere near good enough to make that trade work.
Could Boston build a package around Doubront? I know pitching is the area they need help in, but if you can get Upton I think you have to do it. He’s on a pretty fair deal, with the potential to make that salary look like a steal.
They want a frontline starter not a backend guy
I’m pretty sure Doubront is young, has potential and is affordable. Oh yeah, and he’s big league ready. But hey, it was just my two cents.
“Good young starter” is a pretty vague statement. Would a young lefty who pitched like a #3 in the AL East be considered a “good young starter?” In the most basic sense, yes absolutely, but is that what the D’Backs are looking for? Who knows.
they have plently of #2 #3 guys they need an ace and Big Game James fits the bill perfectly
He’s not an ace, though. Very good, but not an ace.
An ace keeps you in the game, delivers lots of innings, has an excellent K/BB ratio, gets GBs, and has good overall stats. Now tell me what an ace exactly is?
A guy who is consistently in the conversation for being among the best in the game and would be the best pitcher on almost any team in the game. Mark Buehrle was an ace this year by your definition.
Mark Buehrle could be considered an ace but I’d love to hear your definition of it
Well, if you read the comment you responded to you’ll see my definition of it. And Mark Buehrle is most certainly not an Ace; If Buehrle is an Ace so are half the pitchers in the game.
No he doesn’t, he’s not an ace (he’s not even a #2 half the time), he’s not young, and he has less team control left than Upton does.
Exactly my point.
Would a young lefty who pitched like a #3 in the AL East be considered a “good young starter?”….. WHAT.. Pitched like a #3?! 4 Walks per 9 and 9 Hits per 9.. 1.44 WHIP and a 4.86 ERA.. Young and Lefty are the only things you got correct. He is almost below average lol. Not even close to a #3.
Right, I forgot how awesome ERA and WHIP were…
He had a 4.37 FIP (101 FIP-), a 3.81 xFIP (92 xFIP-), and a 3.84 SIERA so by those he’s average or better, and he had the 4th best K/9 in the AL. By definition a #3 starter is a league average starter.
League average is 4-5 starters ..Not a #3 And his K/9 this season were better than anything he has put up in the minors. Could this be that he has improved? Of course, or is it that hitters were unfamiliar? Possibly.. I guess next season we will find out. All I know is that Felix Doubront is NOT a #3.
Well according to scouts #3 starter means league average, so if you disagree you should take it up with them I guess. Plus, all of his peripheral stats suggest that he was at least league average (FIP- and xFIP- use 100 as average and anything lower than 100 is better than average, so a 101 FIP- is only 1% away from average and 92 xFIP- is 8% better than average; also his 3.84 SIERA is better than the league average SIERA of 3.92), so if you really want to say he’s not league average you’re going to have to do more than give an opinion.
Nats still in the conversation?
Doubt it, though I think they have the pieces to get a deal done.
I pray to the baseball gods my Tigers don’t sell Castellanos and a package for Upton. There’s so many FA options for OF right now. And something like Castellanos + Smyly/Porcello + Garcia + another minor league player is just way tough, especially after giving up the packages for Sanchez and Fister in the past two years.
Absolutely. What I would give up for Upton would in no way be what the D’backs would accept. I’m just fine with moving on earlier rather than later with Upton.
amen
And this is why it is a pretty safe bet that Upton remains a Dback. Profar and Andrus are off the table in Texas. Castellanos would have to be a part of a package coming from Detroit. Or Middlebrooks would almost certainly have to be the centerpiece coming from Boston. Understandably though, teams are afraid to part with the high calibur talent in their farm systems.
KT and Co. are not going to be accepting a package of mrginal or even “decent” prospects. They are going to be looking for “impact” in return.Right now, in this environment, that is simply more than anyone is willing to pay.
Exactly. I’d rather take the risk of my prospects not turning out than giving away my entire farm system for one player. There will be others that are available that I’d be more willing to do so, Upton just doesn’t quite make it for me.
I don’t think Garcia would be included. AZ has a full outfield.
If the Tigers do it… I’d expect Castellanos, Smyly/Porcello, Rondon, and maybe another prospect in AA or A ball
Not saying I’d do it
here’s hoping DD does more sensible things like back up the truck to re-sign Sanchez, sign a left handed corner outfielder, try and trade Porcello for IF/RP and kick the tires on a Jhonny trade… but who knows.
With the terrible SS free agent class we need to stick with Jhonny. He’s shown that he can be pretty good us.
Does “Don’t expect” the Blue Jays really mean the opposite?
It’s Elliott after all………..
Intriguing. But I don’t know that the Tigers quite have what it would take to get him away without, yet again, completely killing our farm system — not that it’s super strong as it is.
It’d have to be gutted. Deal would have to include Castellanos… And either Porcello or Smyly. Probably Rondon. Maybe another lower(in the minors) prospect
Yup, exactly. And not what I’d like to see. I’d be fine with losing Porcello, but I in no shape, way or form would give up Castellanos, Smyly or Rondon for Upton. Does not seem at all worth it to me.
Issue might be Illitch. He may push for something like this given his advanced age and desire for a WS title
Yeah, that’s true. But I don’t think Illitch is that much of a fool…. If Upton was a free agent, I wouldn’t be shocked in the least to see him shell out the cash to get him, but I don’t know that he’d be worth the price of players we’d have to give up.
Homer Bailey and Didi, let’s go.
Jacoby and middlebrooks for J up?
They are looking at trading Upton because of OF depth, I doubt they’d want to take on Jacoby in a trade for Upton. Doesn’t make sense.
niese for upton?
ah Mets fans….
The fact that everyone is talking Detroit or Texas and no one is mentioning Philly, leads me to believe Ruben is going to sell the entire organization for J-Up.
Whos gonna headline that deal?
There really isn’t anyone on Philly that can headline that deal.
There could be a three way deal involving Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, or someone like that. It really doesn’t make sense for the Phillies to trade either of those players though.
Prospect wise, our best prospect is Maikel Franco. He’s got superstar ceiling but he comes with a lot of risk. He’ll be in A ball next year, AA in 2014 and so on. Conservatively he wouldn’t be ready until 2016, which doesn’t help the Diamondbacks out.
Trevor May, Jesse Biddle, Ethan Martin, Jonathan Pettibone, and Vance Worley are young arms who could interest the Diamondbacks and are about a half season to a season away (besides Worley). I don’t really think there’s anybody the Diamondbacks would consider as a fair return.
Maybe Hultzen could headline a package. They were expected to pick him over Bauer before the M’s grabbed him. Texas makes alota sense tho
Get on it AA!!
I wish the Yankees would trade for J-ups and leave him in RF for the next 7+Years.
D-Backs get Nova, Banuelos, G.Sanchez, Mason Williams
Yankees get:Justin Upton and T. Bauer.
Major league player, 3 top 50 prospects.
That’s a horrible trade for Arizona. Bauer has more potential than Nova and Banuelos and they don’t need Sanchez with Montero locked up long term and Williams still has a long way to go. The yanks don’t match up with Arizona
About Bauer having more “potential” yes true, but he wants out of Arizona..and sometimes it’s not about potential. You get that from Ban, and Nova is a major league ready pitcher. Battle tested in the AL East. A transition to the NL ala Ian Kennedy would do wonders for both.
Sanchez is not catcher long term. Williams does not have a long way to go, IMO.
Andrus and Upton look like a great fit for a trade, yet almost all I read about Upton talks about the AL East.
It looks like a great fit, but Texas has been adamant that it won’t happen.
Yeah I saw that right after i posted this. Kind of surprising. Must mean GMs don’t think Upton really is the star people have come to think his is.
His road splits are a bit disappointing.
Cubs should give Arizona a call, unless the D-Backs are 1 of the 25 teams they don’t match up with in a trade.
Cubs were on the no trade list last season, and likely are again this season. Besides, the Cubs don’t match up well talent-wise with what the Dbacks need in return unless Starling Castro is somehow involved and I don’t see the Cubs parting with him, not even for Upton.
What exactly is the point of putting a team on your no-trade list if you are going to waive it if you are traded there?
A player puts a team on the list in order to have leverage. The player can negotiate a better contract with the teams on the list. If they REALLY want the player, they will give in to the increased contract demands.If they don’t want to give in, the player can still say es, or simply walk away and stay put.
Leverage. You can demand they sign you to a lucrative extension if it’s a team like the Yankees or Red Sox, for example.
The GM said he won’t Trade Upton this year. How about Ryan Wheeler/Upton/Brauer to Red Sox’s for Will Millbrooks/Felix D. and so on. The Diamondbacks have Cliff Pennington as their SS Sean Rodriguez,Elliot Johnson,Tim Beckham,Reid Brignac can also play SS for Rays.
Pennington is not the Dbacks answer at SS, he is simply the best fit they currently have. That’s why they are so heavily targeting teams with quality SS talent when there are people calling about Upton or Bauer.
The reality is almost certainly going to be that neither Upton or Bauer are moved. The Dbacks are unwilling to sell low, and most teams are not ready to break the bank for either one of those players.
Young starter? How about Bauer for Upton? Wait a second…
Rays won’t acquire anything, Justin’s contract is far to pricy for the cheap rays, who just paid Sheilds the “most in franchise history” with 12M.
IF they trade for Upton, Shields will likely be involved
Doesn’t make sense, Uptons got more then 1 year left on his contract.
then prospects/cash will balance it out a frontline starter is harder to find then powerful outfielders
He had a down year playing in a place where hitting is easy. His value especially long term for the Rays doesn’t make sense. The Rays have a lot of arbitration players looking for raises in the future and bringing in a guy like this only hurts the future of an organization. Not saying he is a bad player, he just has a bad contract.
i would trade Buchholz in a package for Upton
Yes, I second that move, providing the D-backs agree to a larger deal that includes Paul Goldstein, along with Upton.
Thats cute. Upton+ for a guy with a 4.5 era and a K/9 just above 6. Makes sense
So you think a package with Buchholz as the main piece will need to bring both Goldschmidt and Upton.
So what else would AZ get in addition to Buchholz if they gave up Upton and Goldschmidt. They have major holes at 3rd, SS, and 1b (with goldy gone).
I use the term “larger”….. ie. multi-player. I don’t know much about the D-back organization to say what the might expect or want in return for Upton and Goldsmith. Any thoughts?
The Red Sox have no talent in their system that would pry Goldschmidt from them. At least, not realistically speaking. One could always come up with some scenario. But to do so would be to completely gut the BoSox.
It would probably take as much or more to pry Goldschmidt from the Dbacks then it would to obtain Upton at this point. When KT is the GM, NO ONE is untouchable. But Goldschmidt and Montero are about as close as it comes. Notice, there are no silly threads about either of them getting traded. There’s a reason for that, even GMs that are dreaming know that they haven’t got the pieces to make it happen.
As good as Profar is, I don’t think even Profar could buy Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks right now.
Any chance one team – like the Red Sox? – trade for Justin Upton… and then sign B.J. as well?
I’m not saying this is what any 1 team should do – just wondering if there would be an added benefit by bringing the brothers together, especially since there has been talk in the past about each sibling’s attitude at different points in time.
Could it improve their collective morale… or make it worse?
Interesting thoughts, not sure how their relationship with each other is, but I presume they’re close and could only see both of them benefiting from playing together. I’m sure they’d both push each other as they did when they were kids.
Why is everyone in such a hurry to trade Upton?
This is a shame for Texas. There is no reason for them to keep Andrus and Profar. Both seem to be the exact same type player fighting for the same position.
The only way this makes sense is if the organization is primed to move Kinsler to the OF to make room for both of them and to address one of their OF needs. Otherwise, this is one of those trades that just makes so much sense that it seems silly it isn’t happening. Of course, it’s almost always those types of trades that don’t happen.
Bad news for Tigers fans. 97.1 the ticket is reporting that the Tigers are in working talks with Az about Upton… Rumored package involved revolves around Castellanos and Garcia.
Hope that’s just speculation…
Avisail Garcia certainly has the projected upside to sweeten a deal centered around Castellanos, but it would seem odd that the Dbacks would be acquiring another young OF talent when they will still be 4 deep even after trading Upton. I would imagine Porcello or Smyly would make more sense to package with Catellanos, at least from AZ’s perspective.
Quite frankly, as badly as the Dbacks could use Castellanos, they need a starting MLB SS even worse. Chris Johnson is not the answer at 3B, but he’s serviceable. The Dbacks still don’t have a serviceable SS to be the everyday starter for them at SS.
They just traded for Cliff Pennington.
He was the throw-in from the A’s when they traded for Heath Bell. He’s also the guy that lost his job to Stephen Drew when the Dbacks jettisoned him for not performing up to snuff. Somehow I suspectt the Dbacks are still in need of a SS.
They are, but no one seems to wanna move them…
O yea it’s bad we get a potential MVP caliber player and trade two players who are not necessary with getting upton an OF of Dirks AJAX and Jupton excites me. I do wish we could have kept lil miggy as I thought Cabrera would be a mentor for him. Castellanos is good and will probably be great but the tigers are obviously in a win now situation ( did u see Mr. I at the ALCS?).
tigers should not trade for Upton, Garcia’s gonna be a star in the future, especially if he continues to learn from Cabby. Rondon could be our future closer, so I wouldnt give him up. Plus, Castellanos has looked really good in the minors, and we should hang on to him. Get a left handed outfielder (someone with speed) for a decent price, and give Boesch another chance next season. If Boesch doesnt work out, trade or DFA him and start Dirks until the trade deadline.
I
wonder if the Marlins offered to pay half of Reyes’ salary, Christian
Yelich, Zach Cox, and 2 pitching prospects other than Fernandez, if
Arizona would do that. I doubt it. doesnt seem like enough
That would be a huge overpay. No way Marlins do that
do you think taking yelich out of that then is enough or now its too little? I dont know. I personally didnt think my offer was enough. As a Marlins fan, I know that I would be willing to make that deal for multiple reasons. Upton is by far the best player in that deal
Where do you play Upton? He is a right fielder. Mike Stanton is also a right fielder. What would you do?
Either move Upton to Center or Left (I’ve hear a few teams mention before that they felt he can play Center) or move Stanton (He has played center before, but I prefer him on a corner). Both are very good defensive guys with a great arm in right, but you find a way if you can somehow get a guy like Upton
Maybe a packege centered around Alvarez, Escobar and Arencibia for Upton and Bauer would work. Probably some money or lower prospects included as well
What? Lol.
Definitely a start but not too sure what other trade chips the Jays have that they can afford to lose that could sweeten the deal to get em.
If you want both Upton and Bauer… Az is probably gonna insist on one of Nicolino, Snydergaard, or Sanchez is included
Think Arizona would give up J. Upton+Putz for a package of Porcello-Castellanos-(another piece not named Garcia or Rondon).
D-Backs get an everyday starter and a future everyday 3B. They don’t need help in the outfield (A. Garica) and DD isn’t about to give up Rondon, period. Not sure what the other piece would be though, maybe Crosby, Oliver, Villareal or Marte?
Porcello/Castellanos/Crosby might be an attractive package, but I doubt that the Dbacks give up both Upton AND Putz to land that sort of package. Upton is vlued high enough by the organization that they may want that package for him alone. The Tigers have some intriguing pieces, but since the Dbacks biggest need would not be immediately addressed by any trade with Detroit, it would come down to gutting the top end of Detroit’s farm. As intriguing as it might be, both sides are probably best served by walking away from an Upton or Bauer deal.
I really just dont get it with Justin Upton. What could have happened
that he isnt their franchise player? I’m not moving him if I’m Arizona.
Nobody that you get back will be Justin Upton. He is your number 3-4
hitter that hits over .300, over 30 HRs, and drives in over 100. He is
your MVP candidate. You want to fill 3b? Thats fine. You have Mat
Davidson in the minors and Chris Johnson as a stopgap. You have a lot of
rotation arms and a good bullpen. Why are you forcing things? They need
a SS and thats it in my opinion and you wouldnt even have that problem
had you just kept Stephen Drew. He is a free agent right now by the way.
I really just dont get it. I would do anything to have him on my team.
Stephen Drew had to go. He was the second or third best SS on the tem once he finally came back, and his option for this year was $10 MM, a price tag that there was simply no way the Dbacks were going to meet.
Upton is a rare talent.. And the Dbacks aren’t so much trying to get rid of him as they are at least listening to what others might be willing to offer. If some other organization wants to overpay for him, then it behooves the Dbacks to at least consider moving Upton since they still have a talent logjam in the OF. Upton still is a franchise player. However, the Dbacks have moved on and instead decided to build around Montero behind the plate and Goldschmidt at 1B. Upton could still be the superstar for them in the future. But if moving him bring back enough talent to compete for 5 more yeras instead of the two that they still have Upton for, there is reason to listen.
dont they have him signed through 2015? that would be 3 years at a cheap cost.
Yup, you’re right. Apparently I can’t count when I am drinking. 3 more years.
He hit .300 once and 30HR once.
The guy is 25 years old dude. Last year he played with a bad hand injury that was bothering him all year and he still put up respectable numbers. If you dont think he is a franchise player, then I dont know what you would think a franchise player is