NL East Notes: Marlins, Jeter, Upton, Phillies

Despite rumblings to the contrary, Derek Jeter says he’s not making a play to buy the Marlins, writes Christian Red of the New York Daily News.  “You got money for me? A report I’m gonna buy it, who am I buying with? Unless you got money for me,” Jeter said. “You believe everything you read?” More from the NL East..

• Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) heard from one AL exec that the Royals have talked to the Braves about outfielder Justin Upton.
• David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution lays out the case for the Braves trading Upton.  Upton is one year away from free agency and Atlanta wants to build a strong team for 2017 and beyond as they get ready to move into a brand new stadium in Cobb County.
• Phillies GM Ruben Amaro is being more realistic about the value of his players than he was in July, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. “Teams just don’t want to give up the talent. They’d rather give up the money than the talent. So we have to have an understanding of that, and at the same time we have to identify the guys that are still pretty talented and not take a bath,” Amaro said.  Right now, the Phillies aren’t receiving a ton of trade interest.
• If the Marlins can’t find the top of the rotation starter they’re looking for, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com suggests that they should instead make a play for Reds closer Aroldis Chapman and build a super bullpen.  With Chapman, Miami could either move Steve Cishek for a starter or a power bat or keep him and use him in the eighth inning, giving them one of the best combos in the National League.