It's that time of the year again. The Diamondbacks are engaged in "active discussions" about a trade involving Justin Upton, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Multiple teams are looking into his background, makeup, etc. (Twitter link), and one executive put the outfielder's chances of playing elsewhere next season at 80-20.
Upton, 25, hit .280/.355/.430 with 17 homers this season while battling hand issues. He hit .289/.369/.529 with 31 homers just a year ago, earning him a fourth place finish in the MVP voting. Upton is signed through 2015 for a total of $38.5MM. Rosenthal says his limited no-trade clause included the Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, and Cubs this year, though the list has since changed.
The Diamondbacks seems to be involved in trade discussions involving Upon every offseason and every trade deadline, though the most serious talks occurred back in 2010. Arizona has already traded Chris Young and still has plenty of outfield depth with Gerardo Parra, Adam Eaton, and Jason Kubel.
Yankees
(had to say it)
who are they going to give up tho? do they have a young 3B,SP, orSS propsects that are almost ready for the bigs? Im not that familiar with their farm system but I dont think it has the pieces the D-Backs are looking for.
I can’t wait until he is just traded.
Would be a nice cornerstone for the Cubbies
Cubs are quite likely still on his “no trade” list. Also, given that the Cubs are rebuilding, it would be a tough deal for them to make. What they need now is young, controllable talent – exactly what a player like Upton would cost them. Start with Starling Castro and work from there. Cubs would be bettr off developing the talent or waiting another year to trade after they have filled in some of their other holes first.
No way, maybe a package of Marmol,B. Jackson,Vitters, or Barney any of those 2 or 3 should get it done, the guys coming off a down year and I think he’s got a hefty contract
The Cubs would need to offer players of a MUCH, MUCH higher quality than those guys. Probably not Castro, but he’s the only guy that should be off-limits. I’d say at least 2 or 3 of their top prospects would have to go. The D’backs would laugh off an offer centered around any of the guys you listed.
The problem with lining up with the Cubs is that the Dbacks real needs happen to match up with the Cubs core for the future. The Cubs have some talent to make a deal happen. But with Castro untouchable (at least I would suspect he is) the teams have far less common ground with which to work.
Then there is still the matter of Upton not wanting to go to the Cubs that would need to be addressed.
He’s got a farilly average contract, and will be getting paid less that “qualifying offer”. Castro would be choice one. Barney would be choice two. Dbacks have no use for Marmol. Vitters would likely be the other player. But Barney and Vitters alone, despite being a decent haul, would not likely induce KT to pull the trigger.
Castro isn’t going anywhere especially not for an outfielder. We have plenty of depth throughout the minors in OF. If a Upton trade were to occur I could see a package of Baez, Vitters, Barney, and a lesser pitching prospect such as Struck enticing KT.
Cubs Cubs Cubs
I’d be surprised if Upton is actually traded. KT and Co. have made it clear a number of times that they will “listen” to offers on anyone, including Upton. But they have also made it quite clear that there arre no bargains to be had in the Upton sweepstakes. A team will have to part with a boat-load of talent in orderto pry Upton awway from the Diamondbacks, and with all the speculation about “is there something wrong with him”, it seems unlikely that there are many teams willing to do so.
Texas seemed the most likely trade partner, and maybe they still are. But if THAT trade is going to happen, it will need to happen soon, as both teams will then have some serious work to do to finish out the FA period – especially AZ.
Jays for Arencibia, Yunel + one of Lansing 3 (probably Nicolino or Sanchez)
That’s a massive overpay. JP’s numbers I’m pretty sure are comparable to his, and at a more valuable position. Yunel and D’Arnaud I wouldn’t mind though
I believe it is an overpay as well, but I figure other players could be involved. The Jays are looking for another SP, and the DBacks have a surplus with Kennedy, Cahill, Hudson, Miley, Skaggs, Bauer… If we could pickup Kennedy or Hudson in a deal, that would be terrific.
So the Jays get Upton and Kennedy, the Dbacks’ star and ace, and the Dbacks get a catcher they don’t need and a bad shortstop? Got it.
Massive overpay?? You got to be kidding right? Arencibia does not even hit well for a catcher, his AVG and OBP are awful the only thing hes got is pop, and btw the Dbacks already have one of the best catchers in the game. yunel is nothing more than an average SS.
Yeah I took a closer look at his numbers and they’re not the greatest. Though certainly not the worst either.
If you’re not joking, I am losing faith in the human race. JP Arencibia is a horrible baseball player.Dude has a career OBP of .275, one of the worst in the league. An offer of JP, Yunel and one of those prospects would be a HUGE, HUGE win for the Blue Jays. No way Arizona would do that.
Dbacks just recently gave out their biggest position player contract ever to their own Catcher in Miguel Montero. Pretty sure that, as good as Arencibia is, he doesn’t get it done unless it is part of a 3-way.
Montero underachieved in his 1st year after the big contract though… Maybe Texas gets involved since they are in need of a catcher? Could be an interesting group of teams for a 3-team deal. A lot of needs could be addressed… i could see someone like Moreland moving to Toronto as well.
The Dbacks overpaid because of the Molina signing. Yadier pretty much forced teams to break the bank to sign catching. However, by the end of the season, Montero put up numbers quite consistant with, and a bit above his 162 game average to that point. If he performs at that level for 4 more years, his contract will still be looking good.
Arencibia is an intereesting idea, but it would still come down t a third team, and Texas seems pretty unwilling to part with eithr Profar or Olt, and I’m not sure that they can expect Montero, Arencibia, or Upton (depending on how the trade worked) without giving up one of them unless it was a Andrus+ for Upton deal.
I agree completely, and couldn’t have said it better myself… for the contract that Molina signed it skyrocketed the Catching contracts throughout the league. For other positions, this would be overpayment for production. Montero did not have a bad year by any means, but I think they could afford to move him for JP + others if they can address their biggest needs. What about this: To DBacks – Arencibia, Andrus, Norris… To Rangers – Montero, Escobar, Sierra…. To Jays – Upton, Moreland? Seems relatively fair, although Texas could want a bit more.
Dbacks would probably take that, although it would be a steep price in giving up Montero. KT would have to be feeling a bit itchy.However, the Rangers fans would probably lynch Nolan Ryan and Company if that happened though.
DBacks or Jays would likely have to add in another name, preferably a SP for the Rangers.
interesting all around! but i think it makes AZ heavy on the RH hitting
Should be Upton+ for Andrus he has proven way more than Upton has in the majors.
Uh, no he didn’t…Montero’s OPS in 2012 was .829 vs. .820 in 2011. He actually improved, not to mention that he’s arguably the second best defensive catcher in baseball behind Yadi Molina.
… The Jays would have to be stupid to trade Arencibia. Yes, we need a Left Fielder, but not at the expense of punching a new hole in our team.
Arencibia is not good. What is wrong with you people.
Is it really punching a hole? d’Arnaud has nothing left to prove in AAA.
Amaro please trade Jimmy Rollins if they need a SS…. we could give SS to Galvis and sign BJ Upton aswell….we can form a young core from Galvis, Brown, BJ Upton and Justin Upton!
why on earth would the dbacks want an old overpaid player in return for a 25 year old potential superstar?
I don’t know what’s funnier. The fact that you think a 25 year old “cost controlled” All-Star caliber OFer, could be had in a trade centered around Jimmy. OR the fact that you have Galvis as one of the “core” players.
Other than the fact that a Jimmy Rollins/Justin Upton trade makes no sense what so ever…
Jimmy Rollins has a No Trade Clause and I can almost guarantee he doesn’t want to be an Arizona Diamondback.
Rollins is going nowhere. Amaro does need to add some power to our lineup going into next season with our aging sp and the window of the current team closing due to age. getting Justin would help with both power and age and Amaro needs to get that deal done. getting both Upton brothers would be real cool because you could really call Philadelphia the city of brotherly love then
lol. I smell Amaro all over this, but not with Rolllins. Thats laughable. The deal for Philly would have to be something like Brown, Galvis, Jesse Biddle, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, they throw in Cliff Lee and deal for Bauer and Upton together.
I know the Braves/Wren are definitely on the phone about this guy.
Get it done Wren!
How about a law firm OF of Heyward, Upton and Upton?
One can dream.
Mets will offer one of each of the following:
1B/OF: Ike Davis or Lucas Duda
SP: Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, or RA Dickey
this deal is about to go down, Upton to the Pirates
Thanks!
I’ve had a rough day and needed a good laugh.
I dont know what you are laughing about, its going to happen
Yep. A guy I know just saw Gerrit Cole packing his bags and this dude down at 7-11 told me that Starling Marte was seen burning a Pirates hat.
Was it his baseball bags or his personal bags? Also, did marte burn the pirates home or away hat? or both?
Unless Marte can transition to 3B, he offers nothing to the DBacks. And if the Pirates give up Cole in a deal for Upton, then they deserve to continue with the second half collapses.
Assuming you’re serious, who are the D-backs getting back from the Pirates? It better be a great haul or the trade is a mistake, in my opinion.
Gregory Polanco and Jeff Lock and a lower level prospect
I would love for this to happen. They showed serious interest before the deadline, maybe they can work something out.
Wrong Adam Eaton is linked. Should be linked to BR page for the 23-year-old OF, not the 35-year-old pitcher.
Every time.
inb4
Anthony Ranaudo
Jerry Sands
Kolbrin Vitek
Alex Wilson
Josh Fields
for Justin Upton
That’s interesting. I don’t think it happens, but it is interesting.
Quantity bad. Quality good.
Middlebrooks, Webster, Brentz for Upton.
The Bravos better get this guy!
I hope he is dealt.. Cant be healthy for the guys mental state hearing his name in rumours every couple months..
The easiest way for his name to stop coming up is for him to start performing up to expectations.
In 2011, he batted .289 with 31 HRs and 21 SBs at age 24, and everyone said he’d finally started performing up to expectations. One of the first rumors that popped up last winter was where Justin Upton might get traded, so I’m not so sure your theory is accurate.
The rumors started the off season after he had a MONSTER year in 2011… I think people inquired the year before that too, but still, it’s not like he never produced up to expectations or exceeding them.
Any chance of Upton going to Detroit?
Doubtful
We lack the prospects I think. The only prospects we have worth much is Castellanos/Garcia/Rondon…
Casstellanos would have to headline the deal and I don’t think that Detroit’s system has much else to make up the ddifference right now.
Exactly
Not true. Sign Sanchez, then you can give up Porcello in a deal. Porcello, Rondon, Castellanos, and Danry Vasquez for Upton.
That’d make for a nasty team for the lnext 3-5 seasons… Then a rebuild would probably be in order
The bigger issue is that the Dbacks don’t want prospects on the left side of the infield. They want major league ready players. We have Matt Davidson 2-3 years away at 3B, so SS is the only place we’d take a prospect, but we’re talking Profar quality.
And I understand Profar is probably steep, considering decreased productivity this year with Upton.
The teams I would love to see Justin Upton traded to would be the following in this order: The Braves, Pirates or Yankees
Trade him to the Yanks for Granderson, Nova and a B level prospect
And owe $15M to 32-year old Granderson? We’d trade Upton because of the depth we have in the OF, why add another? 3B or SS. That’s what Upton goes for.
DBacks don’t need Granderson, they just traded him (C.Young)
Now that the albatross (Bay) has gone by the wayside and with the Mets having no right handed bats in their outfield, it would be foolish not to get involved in talks with Upton. I’m hearing stuff from Rosenthal (I know, crazy) about the Diamondbacks needing a shortstop, and “Upton possibly could bring them a player such as the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus.” I smell a possible blockbuster trade coming between the Mets, D-Backs and Rangers due to the similar needs between the three teams, namely infield help, outfielders, and pitching.
Proposed trade of Justin Upton and David Holmberg (Lefty Starting Prospect) for Norris, Lowrie, Wesley Wright, and Paul Clemens. In this trade, Arizona fulfills all of their off-season goals: upgrade at SS, experienced SP, and LH RP on the cheap. Dbacks also rid themselves of Upton’s contract which calls for $10M in 2013, $14M in 2014, $15M in 2015. The Astros pick up a young bonafide CF with speed and power coming off an average year and a Lefty SP prospect. Upton on the trading block due to expected performance, costs and issues with DBacks upper management.
What?
I’m no Astros fan but this probably makes no sense whatsoever to do especially when they just acquired Lowrie last year in the offseason….
that is a bad offer.
Justin Upton plays RF. His brother, BJ plays CF. Justin is not a natural in CF and would not be the first or second choice for nearly any team.
Also, the Dbacks are not getting any legitimate “impact” talent in that deal. They aren’t looking to shed Upton’s salary, they are looking for an upgrade in total impact. The trade helps Houston WAY more than it helps AZ. In three years, Upton will still be playing, and even if 2011 was his best year, many teams will take that 9/10 times.
In 3 years, every one of the players going to the Dbacks in that deal is elsewhere.
Uh.. no.
Please let it be the Blue Jays. We need something positive right now.
Jays have the talent, but would almost certainly need to get a third team involved in order to make the needs line up better.
what are the AZ needs at this point? SS? 3B?
Dbacks still need a SS and would prefer a better 3B than Chris Johnson. They are also in the market for MLB level LHP out of the bullpen. Catcher, 1B, OF and to a lesser extent starting Pitching are all positions that trade value coming back to the DBacks would be pretty low as those are the places they have locked up for the foreseeable future.
Yup. They traded for Pennington, but I really hope they don’t see that as an answer to a problem. I wouldn’t mind seeing him added to a trade so we can keep the Sun Devil as the backup SS.
Let’s review here…
-The Mets need a right handed hitter in their lefty heavy outfield as well as some upgrades in their infield and pitching.
-The Diamondbacks needing help on the left side of the infield, not to mention possessing some good young pitching depth.
-The Rangers needing pitching as well as having someone expendable (Andrus).
I smell a potential 3 way blockbuster trade happening between the Mets, Diamondbacks and Rangers due to the strengths & similar needs between the three teams.
I really hope the Braves make a move for this guy. I’d give up Delgado and Gilmartin, and maybe another mid level prospect to get him. He;d be literally perfect for our lineup.The perfect righty complement to Heyward.
The Rangers or Red Sox really seem like the most likely destinations. The Red Sox have a very good young crop of talent moving through the system. The Sox probably want to leave a lot of that future talent like Bogaerts, Webster, and Barnes intact. Maybe they can work something out with Iglesias, Ranaudo, Bradley, and/or Carpenter even though that’s probably pretty light with no sure thing in there. The Rangers have the need, with the loss of Hamilton, and the resources to get this done. Perez, Andrus, and Scheppers would be a real effective package. The wild car in my opinion is the Astros. They have a real deep system with a few major leaguers like Lowrie and Norris that might be worth a look. That would put a huge charge into the Houston fanbase.
so you want the red sox to trade for one of the leagues better players who has a solid contract and could easily bounce back to MVP form due to his age without giving up top prospect? and at the same time saying that the rangers could get it done with Andrus and their two top pitching prospects?
Ranaudo is one of, if not the top Red Sox pitching prospect. I also said “even though that’s probably pretty light with no sure thing in there.” Perez is more advanced, but has yet to prove anything and Scheppers is a middle reliever. He has good stuff but also has done nothing. The Rangers package provides much more for the “right now” while the Red Sox package is much more about projection.
The Red Sox top pitching prospect goes by the name of Matt Barnes.
“Ranaudo is ONE! of, if not the top Red Sox pitching prospect.”
Correct. He is one, but he is “not the top Red Sox pitching prospect.” See what I did there 🙂
bradley is actually considered a top prospect. i would imagine it would have to be a 4 propsect package with A prospects at 3B,SS, Or SP. So maybe middlebrooks,webster, a SS prospect, and an aditional pitching prospect. I would consider doing that as a red sox fan.
Andrus will also cost around eleven million over the next two years, while none of the players in the Sox package have accrued any significant service time. The D-Backs could free up every dollar of the Upton contract and take on practically nothing with the Sox offer, but they would surely have to pay Andrus contract. I’d say it’s pretty close.
I think Kubel is a better trade Fit than Upton, Upton is a fan favorite(despite de last season´s booing) And Kubel is a Power hitter, they could get something for him
I thought the same when CY was dealt. CY was the longest tenured Dback, so it really shouldn’t be a surprise to fans to see Upton go as well. Kubel showed he’s a decent fit in the lineup in year one. I think he sticks around.
It’s actually a bit surprising that the Dbacks have not tpyed with trying to maove Kubel to 3B. He has the arm for it, hits for a modest average and has pop. That clears the logjam they have in the OF, and at least provides the stopgap they need at 3B for the next two years.
The Padres could be a wild card team to consider if the new ownership is serious about winning. We will see
Buyer beware, he’s Brad Wilkerson 81 games a year.
Jose Bautista for Justin Upton
Fielding And Contact for Fielding and power
Which one is contact?
i hope your in there AA
I don’t believe the Red Sox will leave the GM meeting without a bat for1 B, LF or RF.
This may be signing a FA or making noise with a trade: Justin Upton has been mentioned today on this board for a number of players.
Perhaps a 3 way deal that would bring the Sox Arencibia to reunite with John Farrell and perhaps moving Lavarnway as part of the departure of youth from the RS.
Yankees and Sox? Did he not want to play against his brother?
It’s a leverage thing, the 2 (generally) highest paying teams.
Hmm, Tori Hunter in Left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center, Justin Upton in right? Lets go Ben! Start your legacy now!!!!!!!
He will go to the yankees in a 3 team deal with granderson. Guaranteed…
So long as AZ gets a ML ready 3B or SS. We’re not taking Granderson with out packed OF. Especially at $15M at age 32.
How about the Cubs get Bauer instead? Either way, I’ll be a happy rah rah
He wont get traded. This rumor has been going on for years.
Upton for Hultzen, Franklin, Romero, Pryor