Yesterday we learned that the Rangers have some interest in Justin Upton, but they're unlikely to trade either of their two elite prospects – Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt – to acquire him. Some GMs are convinced the Diamondbacks will trade their right fielder. Here are today's Upton rumors, with the latest up top…
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic) that he spoke to Upton about the trade rumors and said he will give him a heads up if something is close to happening (all Twitter links). "We had a good conversation. I think he gets it," said Towers. "[I told him he should] look at it in a good way that people like you, not just D'backs, but you’re perceived very, very well throughout baseball."
They can not trade him soon. Justin Upton Bobblehead night is the 28th! =)
All kidding aside, even when he struggles, he is THE BEST PLAYER on this team. No season ticket renewal here if they trade this guy. That doesn’t mean he is having the best SEASON on the team, but he is the best player. Funny, Montero’s getting paid, is having a season no better than Upton, and nobody boos him. Hmmm. I wonder what is at play here…
Probably the fact that the expectations aren’t as high for Montero. Also, he offers much more than just his offense, and said offense is pretty much exactly in line with his career numbers.
Upton is supposed to be an MVP-type player. His 2012 OPS is 100 points lower than his career OPS.
Any other questions?
Again, you’re evaluating LESS THAN 100 GAMES. Last year he was MVP voteworthy. Montero never has been. And YES, expectations for him are now just as high. They’re paying Young a ton of money, yet tolerate a career .230 and what is now a sub-.200 this year.
Any other questions?
“Upton is supposed to be an MVP-type player”
spoiled. he’s certainly not paid like an MVP player and he is 24 years old. the fact that he was an MVP-caliber talent at 23 (and has been an above average player since he was 20) is reason to expect good things from him, but not reason to boo him if he’s merely average
and that’s the whole thing here. he hasn’t even been bad this season. he’s just been average with the bat instead of great. he’s still a very good baseunner and a great defender, but arizona is upset that he’s taken 80 games off from being a phenom at the plate
spoiled
“spoiled” no better word to describe my fellow Arizona Diamondback fans.
Forget Montero, why aren’t they crucifying Young? Upton has lived up to his hype at least.
Kemp was the 96th rated prospect in 2006
Young was the 26th rated prospect in 2006, and 12th in 2007
He’s been nothing short of a colossal failure who’s praises are limited to his good defense. He was supposed to be having the All star seasons Kemp has had, not the other way around.
Or Kennedy, I don’t think Dback fans pictured their ‘ace’ having a 4+ ERA season. Or Roberts, who’s crash back to earth opened up the gaping hole at 3B again. Or Putz not being anything close to resembling lock down.
That Club has so many problems, yet the fans, team, and media single Upton out? No wonder he has attitude problems.
Prospect ranks aren’t particularly relevant when comparing Kemp and Young.
If Kemp had still been rookie eligible in 2007, he might have been ranked higher than Young on BA’s list.
Otherwise though, you’re right. Despite a 30/20 season as a rookie and two more 20/20’s after that, Young has been massively disappointing. Especially this year.
Exactly. Young has done this for 5 years now. Never ‘breaking out’. I’d love to see Parra in CF 16x a year, with Kubel in left and Upton in right.
Also Kemp was always thought of a huge ceiling and had tools but was extremely risky. The class high risk/high reward guy with a lot of swing and miss.
People have been crucifying Young. But they also realize that he was never expected to perform at the levels Upton was. They also realize he gives 110% all the time and plays as hard as any, including quite frequently when he is injured and has no business on the field.
Not sure who told you Young was supposed to be having a Kemp-like year. That’s about as unrealistic an expectation as there is. Even Kemp is going to have trouble repeating that regularly.
Putz has been shaky, has taken a lot of heat, and a lot of grief. He also has been better than average still and is able to be jettisoned at the end of the season.
Roberts was more or less expected to come back to Earth. The Dbacks have been looking for a bonafide 3B since last year, despite the season he was having.
Kennedy is the only one who seems to be getting a pass. And after choking to the Cubs, those days could be over as well. The difference is, there is still every reason to believe Kennedy might be able to get it turned around.
Upton on the ther hand has had 6 years to develop in the bigs now and no one knows from what night to the next which Upton is going to show up. Will it be lazy Upton that watches a ball drop 3 feet from him because he didn’t want to run towards the wall? Or will it be superstar Upton making a diving grab and then hitting a 2-run jack the next inning?
and yet upton’s still younger than lots of top prospects that are still in the minors. that he’s played well enough to have six years to develop in the majors at his age is a HUGE testament to his ability and talent, not a knock or negative point on him at all.
And he’s still having a season that’s perfectly league average. his “down year” is league average.
that sounds horrible. better get rid of that burden ASAP
Upton has never dropped a ball because he didn’t run for it. He is not the best guy with the glove, he will drop or miss a ball, but has amazing range and a cannon – which like many OFs, will overthrow. EFFORT has never been questioned. Your standards for this VERY GOOD 24 YEAR OLD are out of whack. He is not making 20M. He is having an off year in one category – POWER – that’s it. He’s hitting about .270 and scoring runs at about a 100R/162 game pace. You people amaze me.
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Upton has NEVER displayed a poor attitude. His work ethic has been top notch. He has only stated over and over that he can’t do a thing about what other people think of him. CY’s work ethic has been questioned more than once.
And those that question CY’s work ethic are pretty quickly put in their place by Kirk Gibson. CY is about as hard-nosed of a baller the Dbacks have. That’s how he gets hurt, which in turn hurts the team.
But his results are way less than Upton’s. Listen, they’re both good young ballplayers – with Upton being much better. CY gets a pass on .230 or less, Upton can’t even get a pass at .270. And CY’s made more $ in his career. AZ’s fan base is far below average in baseball acumen. I know, because I sit amongst them at games, shaking my head most nights.
i didn’t know they had WEEI in arizona
Best player on the team? Have you seen what Hill/Kubel/Goldschmidt are doing right now? I love Upton and think trading will probably be a mistake, but let’s not overstate facts here. He HAS been the best player on his team, but he’s clearly not that guy this year.
Montero got paid because he plays a premium position at an elite level. He is to catchers what Upton is expected to be compared to OFers. Even if you call Montero the 5th best Catcher in the NL (which is a low value) Upton doesn’t even rate that high versus corner OFers.
He has the best all-around talent on the team. But his days of “being” the team are over. Either he continues to make the team better, or the Dbacks take a huge haul for him and improve themselves that way. It’s not like they are going to move him for some “league average” talent.
You are analyzing LESS THAN 100 GAMES. Brilliant!
That is weird? with it being Arizona and all you would think the Hispanic guy would get booed!
Well thank you for the trade rumor.
If the Dbacks are so high on him why are they looking to trade him. Hes 24 years old. There is talk out of Arizona thats hes not a winning player. So what exactly do they think othrr teams will offer.?
I’d like a dollar for how many times a “not a winning player” has gone somewhere else and become a winner. Sometimes there’s a player you just can’t jive with….he has value…and you can turn him into something. It’s actually the flip side of a Milton Bradley. Bradley was toxic wherever he went. Maybe Upton just doesn’t fit the program in Arizona….but GMs will line up around the block to see if he fits their program. Just off the top of my head I think of David Ortiz with Minnesota prior to him getting to the Red Sox.
Great points. I like Upton. I think he hasnt peaked yet. His contract is not bad. Dont think the Mets are in on him. Arizona is going to want a lot. Do you see him staying in the west coast?
There’s been the Upton to Toronto rumor. Colby Rasmus seems to be another player who fits the mold. Could be a similar situation to the one Rasmus faced in St. Louis. Makes me wonder what the Kirk Gibson and Upton relationship is like. Gibson was such a hard nosed player…and there’s opinion out there that Upton is a little “relaxed”
Totally different situation, Upton’s been good to great for 3 1/2 plus seasons, in fact during that timefrime he is 9th amongst OF’s in fWAR
I guess my point is from Toronto’s angle they might feel they are the right organization for Upton to flourish even further…given their history and the makeup of the organization. More of a statement about the Jays than who Upton is.
The Buccos are gonna snag him for a package of: Brad Lincoln, Casey McGahee, Rudy Owens and Jose Tabata
Lol
Hey there Brummie.
No they aren’t. Taillion and Marte start the discussion.
This.
Pirates fan dreaming again… The Dbacks aren’t going to trade Upton for a bag of balls.
If you say Taillon, Alvarez, and Gorky Park, then you might get their attention.
They would have to add in Clint Barmes just to make it a fair deal.
You know, I think I would really be flattered if my employer came to me and told me that they are thinking about replacing me because I am so valued to other companies in my field.
Not. If I was so friggin valuable and well respected, why are you even considering moving me?
he’s been shopped before, they aren’t winning, ownership publicly badmouths him, and the fans boo him when he’s anything less than fantastic
upton’s probably okay with a trade at this point
you just know for a fact that he’s going to tear it up regardless of where he goes.
Randall Delgado, Christian Bethancourt, and Edward Salcedo for Upton and Gerardo Parra.
Braves get their OF set for this year and beyond.
LF – Upton
CF – Bourn (FA after this year then Parra)
RF – Heyward
They can then allow Bourn to walk, get the picks, and save the cash for Grienke as a FA.
How does this help the D’backs?
Even though Bethancourt may have a terrific arm, he has atrocious on-base skills and a below average bat even for a catcher. Delgado’s stock has fallen significantly and the D’backs would have a hole in the OF.
Plus they just extended Montero…
Bethancourt is still a few years away, so he still has time to develop the bat and defensive minded catchers still have a great deal of value. If you believe that Montero is still going to be an acceptable defensive catcher at the end of his new deal, you are mistaken.
I think the Braves would offer Delgado and they would be countered with Teheran and they would probably accept. Yes, both have has seemingly stagnant seasons, however Teheran is simply working on his off speed stuff and not relying on overpowering with his fastball.
Salcedo has more power potential than anyone currently in the Braves system. The guy is probably going to be a beast at 3B in a few years.
i’d love to see heyward and upton on the same club, but that offer can and would be beaten by about 10 other teams
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Where do people get this BS about him having a bad attitude. Kubel is having a better year, sure. YEAR. Parra is a GOLD GLOVE fielder, better than not just Upton, but most MLB OFs. Roberts heart is admirable, but he ON HIS BEST DAY can’t carry Upton’s jock, produce the runs, or cover the ground Upton does. Roberts and Parra have more fire than the rest of the team. Upton doesn’t have to be the best at EVERY single facet of the game to be the best player on the team. Guys like Pujols are RARE. That’s why they get $200M.
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I’m willing to bet any amount of canadian money that last year you would have defended justin upton no matter what and if there were trade rumours about him you would have wrote a long fickle post about how he is a young budding mvp candidate and wont be moved.
you don’t know justin upton, you can’t measure his heart or the extent of how much effort he puts in to baseball.. if does put no effort in to his profession and he is this good thats an extreme amount of talent but also completely unlikely.
your post is far from original, its the same thing fans were saying about youk, rasmus, escobar, aaron hill, the list goes on and on.
Not all effort is visible, some players by the grace of god are so talented that things just look easy and natural. if you don’t like him thats fine, but dont pass your fickle opinion off as fact.
In all fairness, I love Parra in LF. He is awesome to watch out there and he has a rifle for an arm. However, he’s not even the best defensive OFer on his own team. (That would be Young.) The ONLY reason he won a GG is because the rules changed and now each OF position gets a GG. In Parra’s case, the competition last year was pretty much between him and Braun and that’s it. In any year before that, he competes against all the OFers and probably comes in 6th or 7th at best.
There’s a reason Upton won the Fielding Bible last year. Despite his hesitence to play near the wall, he’s a strong defensive OFer.
Upton doesn’t have to be the best at every facet of his game. What he does need to do is start showing some consistency. It is still a mystery who the real Justin Upton is. If the real Justin Upton is last year’s Upton, he’s about 3 more years from his own $200MM contract. If the real Justin Upton is this year’s model, then he’s 3 years from being the next Andruw Jones.
Young can chase down anything. But his arm is awful weak. Parra and Upton both are overall more valuable in the field.
I agree with the fact that Upton absolutely MUST become more consistent at age 24. But for them to quit on a guy that young for that – when his season #s are more than tolerable – is unforgiveable. I don’t think he’s going anywhere. I think you make the team better around him so he doesn’t always have to be THE guy 162x a year.
today’s worst person in the world
Kubel is a better hitter, but nowhere near the fielder Upton is. Nor does he have Upton’s speed or his youth. He does have a strong, accurate arm for a LF, and it is paying off big for the Dbacks this year.
Upton is, by far, the best talent the Dbacks have. He is not the future face of the franchise though. Unless he reverts to MVP form, that ship has sailed.
Kubel is a better hitter – for THREE MONTHS – than Upton.
Wish the Nationals could swing a deal for him
Nat’s don’t have a place to put him thanks to the ridiculous contract for Werth.
I would like to see the pirates trade for him, and I say that as a cardinals fan.
LaRoche is gone after this year and Morse shouldn’t be in the OF anyway. Werth slides over to LF, Harper stays in CF, Upton goes to RF.
But that doesn’t matter since the Nats don’t have the infield prospects the D-Backs would be looking for.
i think the pirates would have got him is appel signed, now i doubt that they will trade tallion which makes the deal pretty impossible
dont be surprised to see Philly swoop in here. Upton is EXACTLY the type of player RAJ covets. and he’ll cost 5mm less than pence next season and only 15mm per for 14 and 15 when he’ll be 27 years old. Polanco/Wigginton (3B solved) Pence, plus May or Biddle and Galvis gets this done. and its not even close to an overpay here.
Thats an interesting idea, do a three way trade for hamels and use the prospects for Upton. I think to do that they would need to move Pence though.
its justin upton hes 24 he is sure to have some mvps over his career two great prospect is a fair deal upton is one of the best hitters in all of baseball now and the next ten years and if the rangers actually want to win the ws this year they wont get it without upton
I’d trade anyone in the jays organization not named brandon or brett for justin.
Is it bad that i don’t know who Brandon is?
morrow?
The ONLY situation for trading Upton now is this: He WANTS out. Nothing else makes sense. If he doesn’t. Then you DO NOT deal this guy.
He’s under contract until 2015. What is he gonna do, pull a Dwight Howard?