Early on this offseason, Justin Upton was the subject of trade rumors as a new regime in Arizona gauged the market on their young star. Upton addressed those rumblings this afternoon at Chase Field, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
"At the time, I was prepared to deal with whatever happened. I want to be here. I’m here, I want to play for the D-Backs. I’m not ready to leave. I’m going to be a part of this team this year and hopefully we can turn this thing around," said the 23-year-old.
The rightfielder went on to say that he was surprised by the trade talks but added that "it happens to people every year." Upton also insisted that his feelings were not hurt by the rumors and understood GM Kevin Towers' desire to look into improving the team any way possible.
Upton hit .273/.356/.442 with 17 homers in 133 games last season, a down year by his standards. Many teams inquired on the youngster this winter but all were unwilling to meet the D'Backs' asking price.
