B.J. Upton has spent nearly a decade in the Rays organization. His brother, Justin, has spent all six years of his pro career with Arizona. Neither one has ever been traded, B.J. has shown interest in signing a long term deal and Justin signed an extension that keeps him under team control through 2015. Yet without fail, one of the Upton brothers always seems to be all over MLBTR.
Just about every team has been linked to at least one of the two brothers over the years, as you can see below. Here's a historical look at the Upton brothers' involvement in trade rumors:
- The Nationals are scouting him now.
- He was linked to the Braves in November of 2010.
- The Dodgers were a speculative destination last summer.
- The Phillies asked for him in last summer's Jayson Werth talks.
- His name came up in discussions with the Mariners last July.
- The Nationals targeted Upton last May.
- Back when Roy Halladay was available, Upton was linked to the Blue Jays.
- The Rangers and White Sox were interested in November of 2009.
- Unnamed teams expressed interest in Upton back in 2008.
- The Twins were interested in him in 2007.
- The Marlins were also interested in Upton four years ago.
- The Red Sox were linked to the younger Upton throughout this past offseason. By some accounts they were the only team to seriously discuss an Upton trade last winter.
- You thought B.J. drew lots of interest? 15 or 16 teams approached the D'Backs about Justin this November.
- The Mariners, Marlins, Orioles and Yankees showed interest and even the Rockies inquired. He was also on the Blue Jays' radar last offseason.
D'Backs GM Kevin Towers maintained over the winter that he'd have to be overwhelmed to move Justin. B.J., meanwhile, earns $4.8MM this year and becomes a free agent after the 2012 season. He'll become even more expensive through arbitration next year and the Rays are on a tight budget. That can only mean one thing: B.J. will continue to be a regular in trade rumors this summer.
It’s inevitably going to happen so I’m gonna throw out the first ridiculous trade proposal:
Tillman, Xavier Avery, Wynn Pelzer and 1 more prospect from the O’s for Justin.
There. Someone had to start it.
O’s should keep their prospects and let them develop.
No I agree. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing this deal (especially if they draft a college starter that is relatively close to the majors e.g. Hultzen, Bradley, etc).
what will it take for the dodgers to get bj upton
Not being on the verge on a “financial meltdown.”
Now that was funny!
Here’s a typical Red Sox fan proposal: Jed Lowrie, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Michael Bowden, the ghost of Trot Nixon, and a cup of clam chowder for Justin Upton.
Damn dude, you made me hungry. And I was just about to go to bed!
No way. Jed Lowrie is too much to give up for Upton. He’s got like a 1.200 OPS!
Are you crazy? They can’t have Lowrie — the face of the Boston Jed Sox. Now that he’s been freed from the shackles of mononucleosis and Scutaro, he has assumed his rightful place as heir to the shortstop throne, and Iglesias will fill in as a serviceable utility man whenever Jed is unavailable because he is unlocking the mysteries of the human genome, debunking string theory, and solving the Middle East crisis.
Left-handed pitchers who are not named Brett Anderson tremble at the mere sight of him. Right-handed pitchers do not tremble quite as much, but they are still leery of giving him fastballs in the heart of the strike zone when they are behind in the count in close games with runners on base. Hitters who have the audacity to put the ball in play anywhere within Jed’s field of vision soon learn that their mad dash for first base is an exercise in futility, for Jed is blessed with the visual acuity of an eagle, the slender grace of a white-tailed deer, and the dexterity of a spider monkey.
Swap our young Jed-i Master for Scutaro, and we’ll call it square. Also, make sure the clam chowder is red, not white. No need to overpay if they don’t know the difference between Manhattan and New England chowdah.
I still cant get over the fact that BJ stands for Bossman Junior
I can’t understand why BJ can throw with his surgically repaired shoulder like he used to but can’t hit anymore. He stopped hitting period once he got hurt late in 2007, yet here he is 3+ years later drawing attention in trade rumors. A younger version of CoCo Crisp with speed and defense. Nothing more is all he has been for the last 3 years.