On this date in 2006, the Diamondbacks came to terms with Justin Upton after making him the first overall pick in the 2005 draft. The signing deadline back then was the next year's draft, not mid-August. Upton received a $6.1MM bonus, the largest ever given out as part of a minor league contract for a drafted player at the time. He mashed his way to the big leagues less than two years later and already has two All-Star Game nods to his credit. Upton also finished fourth in the NL MVP voting this year after hitting .289/.369/.529 with 31 homers. Here are the first links of 2012…
- MLB Reports interviewed Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- Rum Bunter interviewed Pirates second baseman Neil Walker.
- Baseball Time In Arlington looked at what went wrong with Daisuke Matsuzaka and what it means for Yu Darvish.
- The Cub Reporter will miss the always entertaining Carlos Zambrano.
- FishStripes says the Zambrano trade is about as even as possible.
- Bleacher Nation broke down the newest Cub, Chris Volstad.
- Chicken Friars likes the Carlos Quentin trade for the Padres.
- South Side Sox says GM Kenny Williams has painted the White Sox into a corner.
- River Ave. Blues explains why Edwin Jackson reminds them of Rafael Soriano.
- Royals Review thinks Jackson is a great fit for the Royals.
- The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan doesn't like the Athletics bringing back Coco Crisp.
- Nolan Writin' says Mike Napoli deserves Victor Martinez money.
- Wahoo's On First thinks Manny Ramirez is a fit for the Indians.
- Bless You Boys doesn't think the Tigers should acquire Matt Garza.
- Through The Fence Baseball looks at the significance of the Garza rumors.
- Crashburn Alley wonders if Jonathan Papelbon is the next Mariano Rivera.
- Rays Insider explores the possibility of Kurt Suzuki for the Rays.
- House of the Bluebird looks at what it would take for the Blue Jays to extend Brandon Morrow.
- Twins Fan From Afar thinks the Twins should sign Francisco Liriano long-term.
- Camden Crazies analyzed the Orioles' recent moves involving Jai Miller and Brandon Snyder.
- Warehouse Worthy wrote about how the new CBA will impact the Orioles.
- Red Sox Post lists some starting pitcher options for the Red Sox.
- The McAuliffe Report is glad the Red Sox brought back Rich Hill.
- More Mariners previewed the Mariners bullpen.
- SaBEERmetrics makes a Hall of Fame case for Larry Walker.
- Giants Nirvana reopens Will Clark's Hall of Fame case.
- Baseball Reality Tour lists MLB's 24 best players under 24 years of age.
- Bleacher Report ranks the 50 biggest trades in baseball history.
- M.C. Antil looks back at some baseball deaths we may have missed in 2011.
- MLB Draft Insider introduces us to the 12 best college position players available in next year's draft.
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