Justin Upton invoked his no-trade clause to reject a proposed deal to the Mariners, one of four teams on his no-trade list. The trade would have sent four players to Arizona: Nick Franklin, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor and Taijuan Walker. Instead, Upton remains on the Diamondbacks’ roster and the rumors continue. Here’s the latest on the 25-year-old, who can also block trades to the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cubs…
- The Mets are again interested in trading for Upton, reports Marc Carig of Newsday (on Twitter). He says it's a longshot they'll surrender the prospects required to made a deal.
Earlier Updates:
- Unless Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers lowers the asking price for Upton, the Braves seem willing to proceed with players already in the organization, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. The Diamondbacks wanted a package centered around shortstop Andrelton Simmons earlier in the offseason, but the Braves won’t trade the defensive whiz and Arizona has since acquired shortstop Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati.
- Former MLB player Harold Reynolds said on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show that Upton repeatedly told the Diamondbacks he would not approve a deal to the Mariners (via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports on Twitter). Rosenthal notes that Reynolds is the younger brother of Larry Reynolds, Upton’s agent.
- Upton was never going to the Mariners, so talks were a “waste of time” in the view of USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link).
- The Rangers appear to be moving on from Upton.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
