Justin Upton is available for the right offer, but his no-trade protection enables him to block trades to four teams. The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Indians are the teams on Upton's list, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report. As the FOX reporters note, players often include high-revenue teams like the Yankees on no-trade lists to maximize their leverage. Here are today’s latest Upton-related rumors:
- Marc Carig of the Star Ledger tweets that there is "nothing going on" with the Yankees and Upton.
- Larry Reynolds, the outfielder's agent, says Upton is a good person and a hard worker, Nightengale reports. "What I don't like are the comments and innuendos made about Justin's work ethic and character, especially from those gutless people that don't want to put their name by a quote," Reynolds said.
- The Yankees have checked in on Upton.
- Arizona GM Kevin Towers told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he’s getting more calls than ever as the trade deadline approaches. The volume of calls could be related to Upton’s availability and to the increase in potential buyers.
- Towers told Nightengale he’ll let Upton know if he’s nearing a deal with another club and suggested he might even give the right fielder some input if two teams offer similar packages. "I told Justin that if we're at the 1-yard line, I'll tell you the teams that are interested," Towers said.
Thank God, no Cubs.
Hahaha, if there’s one thing the Red Sox don’t need it’s MORE outfielders, at this point.
Upton is better than any outfielder in the system though, so you make room for a guy like that. Those other guys can also be traded to help replenish the farm a little from the theoretical Upton trade.
Well, the Red Sox probably wouldn’t be getting Upton without including Middlebrooks, so I’d say it’s a moot point now that Youkilis is gone. But can you imagine a full-strength Red Sox outfield of Crawford, Ellsbury, & Upton?
That would be an insane outfield…
I’ve actually been advocating moving Middlebrooks in a trade for Upton, regardless of the fact that Youkilis is gone. They can move Aviles over to 3B for the remainder of the year and play Iglesias at SS (they also signed Andy LaRoche after trading Youkilis), and they have several other 3B prospects in the system coming up in the next couple years (at least one, and probably two, of which have a good chance of being better than Middlebrooks).
If Bogaerts becomes even 75% of what people think he will be Middlebrooks is going to be to be trade bait in a couple years anyway.
While true, I hardly see him being worth what we’d have to give up for him given that what the team really needs moving forward is pitching.
It’s moot anyway though, because there’s no way it’s happening.
I don’t know. I wouldn’t say the chances are good (I’d never say the chances are good when it comes to a blockbuster trade like that), but they’ve tried more than once to trade for him in the recent past, so there’s obviously a lot of serious interest there.
I might be a little bit surprised if it happened at the deadline, but if he’s still in AZ at the end of the season I wouldn’t be shocked if they traded for him in the off season (and then possibly turn around and trade Ellsbury).
I shudder at the thought of the requisite package to get him, even after the season. Probably three top prospects plus? Barnes, Lavarnway, others??? (I don’t know prospect rankings very well…)
I doubt it’s three or more top prospects (depending on how you quantify “top prospects” I guess). More likely it’s either one top prospect and two or three strong second tier guys, or two top prospects and a couple of mid-level guys.
If Upton can up his power and pull more, he would probably be a pretty good hr hitter in fenway.
” players often include high-revenue teams like the Yankees on no-trade lists to maximize their leverage.”
Or… stay with me here: there are a number of players that just don’t want to deal with mega-media markets, and over the top fan-bases.
you lost me at “or”.
I am a die hard Red Sox fan since I was a kid, and I have to agree with this statement that for the past decade the media has gotten out of control in Boston.
No offense AA, because I know it’s easy/enjoyable/justified to hate on top market teams, but over the past 5 or so years this has become a VERY common occurrence. AND many players with no-trade clauses to such cities have often happily waived them when the time arrived. It’s a well-documented approach.
To think otherwise is to just put your head in the sand. Agents want to make their clients as much money as possible, and leverage against the top market teams helps in that regard. It sucks that players will ask for no-trades to cities they WOULD happily play in, just for leverage, but we don’t exactly live in a world of principles.
Is that why Cleveland made the cut too? I was only pointing out that a player’s personal preferences are typically only known to the player, and most likely, his agent.
Cleveland might have made the cut as a team Upton legitimately did not want to go to, sad to say…(ever seen the movie “Mr. Baseball”? There’s a line in that movie about being traded to Cleveland).
You are of course correct that it’s a possibility, but according to your theory at least Philadelphia should be on the list too. While we can’t be sure, odds are this is just another example of a phenomenon that has become very popular in recent years (asking for a no-trade to certain teams just for leverage). It’s been proven and documented to have happened before, and this fits perfectly as another example of that.
Interesting that the three teams he has a no-trade to are the ones with the biggest media markets. His reasons for the Indians ummmm not so sure? Maybe he got indigestion eating the food there?
I didn’t see Los Angeles up there…
In my opinion LA’s media isn’t as highly scrutinizing as the East Coast.
And of course you can make the argument that he still would play for the Mets but we all know New York is owned by the Yankees.
Because the Angels have little/no interest and the chances of Upton being traded to the Dodgers are zero. Short of a ludicrous deal like Kershaw for Upton (a stupid overpay for LA) that trade isn’t happening. No way the Dbacks trade him in the division.
I was referring to the top media markets, not who has the interest. It was a joke.
To quote the great philosopher Ichiro Suzuki:
“If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.”
for Venable and Thatcher? Please? (delusional, wishful-thinking Padres fan)
The Indians… maybe he feels there is a curse here or something. Seems odd considering we are a low market team 1 game out of the wild card and a few bad games that displaced us from the lead in our division.
The current standings have no bearing on the the no-trade list since the player makes it far in advance.
Ahh yeah makes sense…
Can’t believe the Rangers aren’t trying to snag him. I could do Rosenthals job. “Upton available, the Rangers are involved.” Can’t when a WS with all that talent and still need to improve? Why don’t you look at the players you have now and tell them to step up.
The Rangers have made it pretty clear they don’t want to part with Olt or Profar. The Dbacks aren’t about to trade Upton to TEX without getting one of those two.
The Rangers said they would like to keep Profar and Olt out of the deal. Olt will definitely be the headliner if the deal is going to be reached though.
I won’t be surprised if Billy Beane makes a move. Upton has a nice relationship with Bob Melvin. Cespedes could probably DH and Upton in the outfield.
If they get Upton which I totally think they should do then the A’s 3,4,5 can easily be in the discussion for being potentially top 10 in the league. Upton, Cespedes, and Reddick is pretty formidable.
Top 10 in… MLB, or the AL? Because top 10 out of 15 isn’t saying much.
MLB.
an OF of Smith/Gomes-Cespedes-Reddick this year is already one of the better outfields in the AL, depending on how you measure it (and what you think Cespedes’ defensive ability actually is).
That’s kinda like me saying if the Blue Jays trade for him they are in the discussion of having the best 1-2-3-4-5 in the league.
I think the A’s should adopt TB’s philosophy. Build through the farm, not trade it, and of course make the move to SJ.
“I told Justin that if we’re at the 1-yard line, I’ll tell you the teams that are interested,” Towers said.
That’s very interesting Mr. Towers, but one thing though have you told the interested parties (teams) what exactly you’re looking for with regards to players or prospects. Correct me if I am wrong. Towers hasn’t clearly stated as what he is looking for much less as to the reason why he shopping Upton.
Also interesting that the two have an open line of communication regarding this trade it seems to be a mutual thing. Justin wants to get out of there as much as Towers wants to trade him.
But we can speculate on what it would take to get Upton which I think would be 2 A prospects position player and/or pitcher plus 1 B prospect and low ceiling prospect for Upton and Bloomquist maybe? I say Bloomquist because great utility player that can help a contending team by playing almost all positions.
Have you even considered the possibility that Towers has told the suitors what he wants and just hasn’t (gasp!) released that information in the media?
But the Cubs won’t be competing for several years, and by that time the prospects that they would trade for upton would probably be ready for the bigs.
…..cubs fans have been saying this for 100+ years
Yea…. No they haven’t.
As a fan of the RS I just took my Alka Seltzer. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr. Upton that was a close call- I think the Sox were thinking about making an offer.
I guess we know why the D’Backs are willing to put a player with a couple of years of time before FAgency on the market; hope the rest of baseball can read between the lines
Jameson Taillon, Brad Lincoln, Jeff Locke, and Jordy Mercer for Upton.
Keep Marte, and Call him Up to play with Cutch and Upton.
Everyone knows that they really want one of our top Pitchers, so just do it and get the deal done. But Arizona needs to throw in the 30,000 Justin Upton Bobbleheads that are due to be given out on July 28th. That way, if he is a bust for the remainder of the year at least the fans get an extra and unplanned bobblehead night.
Jameson Taillon is a stud, and he is a future Ace for sure ( Will be in bigs next season undoubtebly ) But, Upton puts us over the top…Get him, and get him soon.
Then I want the Pirates to acquire 1 of the following 3 pitchers: Garza, Dempster, Vargas…and also acquire Jason Giambi as a bench bat, perhaps willie bloomquist as an infield bench bat (or replace barmes and move barmes to bench)
Giambi and Bloomquist will cost little to nothing of serious value. And the 3 pitchers will be half as expensive as a Hamels or a Greinke.
Upton ain’t going to the Pirates for that package.
Im not sure which Justin Upton youre watching, but that package is pretty fair for a problematic, underachieving sore thumbed outfielder still owed 38 Million bucks. Baggage doesnt go away, and the issues on an off the field will absolutely be taken into consideration when people are making offers. Dont get me wrong, when he is right,and running on all cylinders, he is as good as it gets, but his consistency up to this point leaves quite a bit to be desired.
And you better believe that Executives around baseball are trying to figure out whats wrong with him either physically or emotionally. The kid has struck out looking at strike 3 more than any player in Major League Baseball…Im just saying…there is OBVIOUS risk buying the fruit from the farmer known as Kevin Towers.
Arizona is going to want a 3rd basemen in any deal. They have no need for more pitching prospects unless they plan on flipping one to another team. If you think so lowly of Upton why are you proposing your team trades for him?
I dont think lowly of him, I think realistically of him. I dont think he is a superstar (because he hasnt displayed that consistently) But even at this production he is an upgrade right now over Tabata, Presley, or Sutton. AND if he gets hot, he could be a difference maker in a big way.
Please, dont take offense to what Im saying. Im just being truthful and logical. Im willing to pay alot for him. Im just not willing to pay for him as though he were putting up ALL Star numbers consistently.
Additionally, you guys have Matt Davidson that most people believe is MLB ready or darn close to it. However, there are no teams willing to give up a proven MLB third baseman for Upton (except teams that are in SELL mode..which those teams wouldnt be interested in adding upton) However, if you have prospects, like a Taillon, Locke, Mercer, then you could parler prospects of your choice for a Chase Headley type player to fill the void at Third Base…Just an example.
Sometimes trades need to be handled like the draft, dont force a deal to get a particular position, sometimes you need to make a deal to acquire the most elite talent you can get regardless of position. You can always trade prospects away, as I just opined, to other Sellers to address particular needs prior to the deadline.
Sorry if I come off as a Dbacks fan. Ironically, I’m a Reds fan lol. So please don’t trade for Upton!
it’s hilarious that you’d mention the money owed to him over this next 3 years as if it’s a negative. it’s a massive positive
if he’s exactly as inconsistent and “problematic” over the next 3 as he has been over the last 3, he’ll produce about 15 WAR. for $38M
Teams really should be willing to unload for him. 1 WAR is worth like $5 million. If he put up 15 WAR over the next three years as you suggested (it is a modest estimation) he would be worth $75 million while earning $38 million over three years. His contract should vastly increase his value… not decrease it. Some team is probably going to pull it off, and it’s going to be a haul.
Sooo… you finally get in the hunt and you want to trade your entire farm system for 1 guy and a pitcher you will lose in the Off season?
As a Cubs’ fan, I can see what the Pirates are doing- stay patient and let the talent develop. McCutchen is getting better every year. Keep Taillon and Cole, you’ll be happier with 3 aces Taillon/Cole/McDonald.
Sending the people that I suggested far from cripples our farm system, its one of the best in baseball at the moment. Additionally, we wouldnt lose Upton after this season, he is under contract thru 2015…so not sure what you are saying mate.
upton and cespedes are only 20-25 hr hitters.
Well only 20-25 HRs because they would play in Oakland and that big ballpark.
I am really surprised the Diamondbacks are so gung-ho about trading Upton, not to mention being so open about it. They are only on the hook for less than $10M next season and he is having a terrible year thus far. I imagine what teams are offering is not as attractive as what they were offering last offseason. Does Gibson dislike the guy or something?
Which lazy Upton brother is Justin? I get them mixed up…
He is the one with the bad attitude…oh wait
Trade for him billy! Cespedes, upton, and reddick in the outfield is legit!
Not that that wouldn’t be a pretty sick outfield, but you’d essentially have three right fielders.
cespedes isnt a right fielder, his main position is center
Most scouts felt that his ultimate position was in one of the corners.
We know, but c’mon, he’s a CF in Cuba. In the majors he’s more suited for RF or LF.
It’ll probably take both Marte and Taillon, or 2 of any teams top 5 prospects for that matter, to get Upton.
There will not be 1 team that offers two top 5 prospects for Upton. Too many questions marks coming alongside the last 38 million owed to him.
They will get 1 top 5 guy and 3-4 tier B prospects…just the reality of the situation. Perhaps a team with a weak system gives 2 of their top 5…But Taillon and Marte is an overpay for Upton.
Remember last year with Carlos Beltran and the Mets came out and said “We’re looking for a top pitching prospect” and what did the Giant’s give them? A top pitching prospect for half a season of Beltran. Upton is only 24 (turns 25 next month), and that 38 million owed is for 3 years of Upton’s prime. An overpay is what it’ll take to get Upton. Yes Towers wants to trade him, but his back is not up against the wall to trade him.
And if that is the case, then all sides will need to live with Upton remaining a Diamondback. HOWEVER, if you are Kevin Towers and have an oppertunity to turn a player you dont believe is the future of your organization into an Elite Pitching Prospect like Taillon, PLUS getting 3-4 B level guys (remember im not talking about AAAA guys, or washed up players, Im talking about players that are expected to be productive big leaguers that are MLB ready), then I dont understand how you dont pull the trigger on that deal.
And As I said above, you could then keep Taillon for your own system, and pick 3-4 prospects you could afford to part with (higher end guys of course) and make a move with a San Diego type team for a Chase Headley…then you turned Upton into a starting third baseman, a young stud arm that expects to be an ACE, AND Brad Lincoln who has proven to be a Daniel Bard level backend of the pen relief pitcher. Him and Wade Miley would be a DANGEROUS 8th-9th combination.
If Upton were tearing the cover off the ball or AT LEAST putting together quality at bats consistently, then Towers would have leverage to perhaps ask for that type of haul, but Kevin Towers and ownership has made it quite publuc that they arent impressed with Upton. It is also quite public knowledge that he has fallen out of favor of ownership and management…Most baseball people truly believe they want to part ways and move on. He will only be worth what people are willing to offer, and all of the negatives that ive mentioned in my last several posts are a rather compelling reason that he will not yield 2 Prospects the caliber of Taillon AND Marte.
You are right in that he will only be worth what GM’s are willing to offer, and I completely agree with other posts that you have regarding him being an underachiever and not playing like a superstar consistently. Also the Taillon package is a good package, but the bidding war for him will probably be big, if not huge. There have been many less talented players than Upton that receive many chances even into their late 20’s because of their talent level. With Upton being as young as he is and possesing the talent level he does there will be a long list of GM’s who think they can fix him. That is why I believe the price tag will hit 2 high caliber prospects. Of course I am also assuming that Towers goes for quality and not quantity.
It’s all about supply and demand. If there is a ton of demand for Upton (which there is) , the price to acquire Upton will be high regardless of the perception that the Dbacks want to move Upton.
There is no way the Pirates get Upton for a package less than Taillon and Marte, plus more. The Astros received 2 top 50 prospects from Philadelphia last year for 2.5 years of Hunter Pence and 3.5 years of Justin Upton is much more valuable than Pence.
This may be true, it could be that some teams still value Upton at his full potential. Either way, if Marte is the “centerpiece” coming back from Pittsburgh, the Dbacks are hanging up.
Towers will only trade him if he is blown away by the deal. 2 of the top 5 isn’t that much.
“There will not be 1 team that offers two top 5 prospects for Upton.”
how much would you be willing to bet that it’s already been discussed?
Pretty sure the Mariners would offer James Paxton and Brad Miller for Upton (#3 and #5 prospect in the Ms system pre-2012-draft).
I think too many teams would top that deal for it to take place. I don’t think a trade for Upton is something that Seattle should be exploring anyway. They have more needs than just one guy. In all reality most teams could just walk Upton in that lineup with no protection. And that’s if he earns that respect at the plate again. It would maybe invigorate the fanbase a little, but overall set Seattle back another year or two. I could see Seattle trading for Upton, but to me they’d have to trade Felix to recoup what they lost with an Upton trade.
What if the Angels offer Peter B, Wells (if the angels pay 75% of his salary) and another prospect?
‘zona doesn’t need outfield help, and that package is laughably light regardless…
Three Big Market teams and…the Indians. Wow, no love for Cleveland anywhere.
LOL the three biggest markets… and the Indians. Sorry, Cleveland.
We all know that “good player with an attitude problem who has fallen out of favour with the management team” is the sole purview of one Alex Anthopolous…
Given what he paid for Rasmus last year I’m thinking… Rajai Davis, Mike McDade and Jason Frasor are about all he parts with. He’s clearly a wizard. 😉
Looking back on the Rasmus trade… that was a bloody steal.
It’s still wondering why Kenny Wiliams just didn’t trade Edwin Jackson to the Cardinals straight up for Rasmus.
For the cardinals maybe who used the pieces to win a world series. Let me know when Toronto wins one.
I’m not a fan of selling off your future for 1 WS win.
After the recent conversations of trades with some of you guys, what about a 3 Team Deal?
Arizona gets: Jameson Taillon and Jordy Mercer From Pirates & Chase Headley From Padres
Pittsburgh gets: Justin Upton From Diamondbacks
San Diego gets: Jeff Locke, Nick Kingham, and Brian Friday From Pirates & Yonato Ortega and Wagner Mateo from Diamondbacks
This is just an initial gut reaction deal…Im sure if I took a list at prospect lists I could come up with something a bit more even. However, I dont think that a deal like this is too unrealistic or unfair. All three teams seem to be adding assets.
Did you just randomly pluck names from each team’s farm system? Anyway, I think the D-backs would be more interested in Marte than Taillon. Arizona has plenty of depth on the mound behind Skaggs, Bauer, Bradley, Corbin, Chafin, and Miley.
Marte as a “centerpiece” does not get it done for the Dbacks. His upside is no greater than Easton who is already in-house. Not to mention they also have Parra on the bench and Pollack waiting.
On the other hand, there is NO such thing as too much pitching. Acquiring Taillon or Cole just gives the Dbacks and even deeper pitching future or give the Dbacks more Pitching to use in order to acquire a 3B.
He had the Dbacks getting Headley which would be the “centerpiece” and would solve their 3B problem.
I’m not saying that deal makes sense but Headley would be a nice piece for the Dbacks and you’re just leaving him out of your comment.
Never suggested that Marte was a centerpiece… just thinking along the lines of what the D-backs would be prioritizing for during trade talks.
And there IS such a thing as too much pitching. Arizona has other holes to fill and they have an opportunity to fill those holes now if they get the right offer from somebody. The idea behind trading Upton for a pitcher with the hopes of flipping that trade piece for a 3B seems silly given the situation.
i think thats the shortest thing I’ve read on here”the yankees have checked in on upton”
After listening to Neil Huntington today on the radio, I am more certain than ever that Jameson Taillon is going to be gone by the deadline. I just hope it’s in a deal that makes sense, and that it gets done in time to keep the Pirates from hitting a downslide after that Milwaukee series.
No trade clauses should be outlawed in this league. Complete garbage…what is this the NBA where players can start dictating exactly where they want to go outside of front office management?
Teams don’t have to give players no trade clauses, and the 10/5 rights are earned, if you’ve been in the majors for 10 years with at least the last 5 being with the same team you should have some say in where you go.
You are hilarious. So when guys sign long term contracts with the team they want to play for, they shouldn’t be able to ensure that they don’t get traded to teams they don’t want to play for? and play for them for the remainder of their long deal at that?
With Votto going down for around a month I could see the Reds getting involved.
I can’t see them moving Hamilton though for him, and their next level of prospects are all arms. I could see something like one of those arms, either Stubbs or Heisey, their SS prospect Gregerious and their 3B prospect Rodriquez
the Pirates need to make a run…they have depth in the minors. Marte and Jameson added to the Zona system would be SiiiiCK. Good deal for both sides…
Want to see the Yankees get involved here as they could get a significant piece for the future and help strengthen an already strong OF. Of course it would cost a lot of prospects but in the end players such as Upton don’t come around very often and they should take a risk here.
I’m not sure that they’d have what the DBacks want. DBacks have great young pitching and OF depth, plus a catcher that was just extended. They need INF help.
Reds possibly intrested now that Votto is out for 3-4 weeks?
It would cost them Hamilton..lint think they want to deal away a Hamilton again…
Perhaps if Upton was playing like he did in 2011. But with his contract and the fact that he’s playing like half the player he was last year I don’t think teams will part with their top prospect for him. I think if Upton is dealt it will be more quantity then quality. I don’t think they’ll get a top 20 MLB prospect for him
I really think teams should stay away from Upton. His splits are scary.
His home OPS: .924
Away: .740
And his SLG% is 100 points lower.
He’s not worth multiple blue chip prospects.
Same deal with CarGo.
I love that a ‘terrible’ Upton season is currently @ .271 with 54 runs in 82 games (100 run pace) and 38 rbi (a 76 rbi pace) on a team that simply hasn’t hit all that well in front of him w/the notable exception of AHill. “Down” year? Sure – the power is currently missing. Put him in ANY lineup with a .300 speedster in front of him, and some thump behind him, and he’s 30/95/.290 with 25sb or better. Yeah, that’s got no value… He’s NEVER had protection, and Montero is not protection.
Upton is definitely not having a terrible season, but Hill, Kubel, Goldschmidt, and Bloomquist are all .300 hitters.
But they’re pitching to him. How many times on average per season does he get intentionally walked?
Currently Upton is playing like a solid, but highly replaceable OF. If he didn’t have his history he’d be comparable to someone like Michael Saunders. teams aren’t offering multiple top prospects for Saunders. The fact that Upton has shown he’s a MVP caliber talent twice is why teams are lining up, the fact that he’s shown that he’s pretty ordinary the other two years are why they aren’t throwing everything they have to get him