B.J. Upton Rumors

Rays Rumors: Crawford, Upton, Zaun

Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times has the latest on the Rays' offseason plans. The highlights: The Rays are said to be interested in discussing a long-term extension with Carl Crawford. If the team does decide to move him, however, the Mets and Braves have expressed interest. The Rangers and White Sox are among the teams interested in acquiring B.J. Upton. Executive VP Andrew Friedman on his team's offseason targets: "We have a list of guys on other teams we have an interest in, and a list of free agents as well. And depending on how the market evolves...   Continue Reading

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Cafardo On Cabrera, Penny, Upton

In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe examines the differing opinions on this year's free agent market and passes on some info from around the majors. The highlights: One National League GM on the top players in this year's free agent class: "[Matt Holliday] won’t get what Mark Teixeira got. No chance. [John] Lackey may get A.J. Burnett money, but I’m not even sure anyone would go that high." A separate source tells Cafardo that many teams will wait out the market this winter, potentially resulting in a few bargains for thrifty teams later in the offseason....   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Lackey, Upton, De La Rosa, Wood

Some more links to check out as you celebrate the end of the work week... MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez confirms that the Red Sox did indeed meet with John Lackey's agent. This morning we learned that Boston expressed preliminary interest in the free agent hurler. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Rangers asked the Rays about outfielder B.J. Upton as part of their offseason routine, but no talks are ongoing. Rockies' GM Dan O'Dowd said that they will only look at a one year deal for the arbitration eligible Jorge De La Rosa, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post....   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Padres, Burrell, Upton, Jays

Here's a few links to help you relax before starting the grind tomorrow... Dan Hayes of The North County Times says that whoever takes over as GM of the Padres will inherit a favorable situation because the "40-man roster is loaded with affordable, controllable talent" and the team "should have a little spending flexibility this offseason." Plus it's San Diego, which is awesome. Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times says that unless the Rays find someone willing to take on the $9MM left on Pat Burrell's contract, he'll be back next year. He also notes that Tampa would need...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Yanks, Padres, Upton

Some links to read before the final weekend of the regular season... Ryne Sandberg tells Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times that his "ideal job" would be managing the Cubs. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says C.C. Sabathia and Mike Mussina are the only two Yankee pitchers of the decade to deliver big seasons right after signing big free agent contracts. Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune says there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Padres GM Kevin Towers. USA Today's Bob Nightengale says (via Twitter) that the Giants expect Randy Johnson to retire after...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Full Count Video: Pujols, Upton, Astros, Bradley

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's see what he has for us... Albert Pujols is in no rush to sign a contract extension. A source "with knowledge of his thinking" tells Rosenthal that the chances of Pujols agreeing to an extension this winter are "slim and none." The reason is that Pujols wants to assess the Cardinals' long-term outlook before deciding on his future. Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, and Tony LaRussa are all unsigned beyond this season. Tampa Bay figures to explore the market for B.J. Upton this offseason. The Rays would be selling...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: Crawford Or Upton?

When the Rays traded Scott Kazmir, their projected '10 payroll dropped to about $70MM. Prior to the season, owner Stuart Sternberg indicated that next season's payroll would be similar to this year's opening day payroll of $63MM. Declining Akinori Iwamura's $4.25MM option would get the payroll in that neighborhood. However, there is still a chance the Rays could try to move Carl Crawford, who will be entering the final year of his deal, or B.J. Upton, who will be arbitration-eligible this offseason for the first time. Moving one the outfielders could open up a spot for Desmond Jennings, who hit...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa

Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video... The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson. The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St....   Continue Reading

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Olney On Rios, Upton, Davis, Smoltz, Webb

ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests that Alex Rios would sign a deal worth $20MM over two years or $30MM over three if he were a free agent right now. That means the White Sox are paying more than market value for their new outfielder, but clubs can't often acquire talented players in their prime. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors: The White Sox are better equipped to win this year and, even though they took on lots of money, they didn't give up a single player to acquire Rios. Some talent evaluators are convinced the Rays will listen to offers...   Continue Reading

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Teams Express Interest In B.J. Upton

According to MLB.com's Jim Molony, several teams contacted the Rays regarding center fielder B.J. Upton. Molony says a trade is unlikely. Star center fielders are rare, and the Rays don't have any strong needs. Upton is under team control through the 2012 season, I believe.   Continue Reading

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