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Rangers "Moving On" From Justin Upton
The Rangers made their "final offer" for Justin Upton to the Diamondbacks and now don't expect to continue talks with the D'Backs, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Texas is "moving on" after making their offer before the D'Backs agreed to their deal today with the Mariners that fell apart when Upton rejected the trade. Arizona made one final offer to Texas for Upton on Thursday before agreeing to the Seattle deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The Rangers rejected that offer since the "price [was] too steep."
The Rangers and D'Backs have been seen as natural trade partners for much of the offseason, with prospective deals built around Upton going to Texas in exchange for Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar. The Rangers were steadfast in refusing to include either shortstop in a trade, however, preferring to offer Mike Olt and Derek Holland as part of a package for Upton. The Snakes have acquired Cliff Pennington and Didi Gregorius to address their need at shortstop this winter, though neither of those players would preclude Arizona from still going after Profar or Andrus.
Though Texas is now apparently out of the mix, there are no shortage of teams still interested in Upton. The Orioles, Mets and Padres have all explored trades for Upton in recent days, while Nightengale sees the Braves as the team that makes the most sense as a trade partner with the D'Backs.
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