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Yankees Haven’t Intensified Pursuit Of Justin Upton

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There are several teams looking into a trade for the Diamondbacks' Justin Upton, but right now it doesn't seem as though the Yankees will be among them.  The Bombers would still like to add a right-handed hitter but haven’t picked up their pursuit of Upton since he was nearly dealt to the Mariners, major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Their decision to stay out of the Upton sweepstakes likely has to do with their efforts to get beneath the $189MM tax threshold for 2014.  Upton wouldn't fit into that plan as he is owed $38.5MM over the next three years.  Morosi proposes that the Yankees could make room for Upton on the payroll and in the outfield by moving Curtis Granderson, who will earn $15MM this season.  

Yesterday, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reported that the Braves are "lying in the weeds" in conversations about Upton and the D'Backs are expected to target Mike Olt in any talks with the Rangers.

Justin Upton Rumors: Saturday

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It has been two days since Justin Upton used his no-trade clause to block a trade to the Mariners, which would have sent Taijuan Walker, Nick Franklin, Charlie Furbush, and Stephen Pryor to the Diamondbacks. Yesterday we learned that both the Braves and Mets still have interest in the outfielder, but are unlikely to get involved unless Arizona lowers the asking price. Here is the latest on the 25-year-old Upton…

  • The Braves are "lying in the weeds" in conversations about Upton, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Atlanta would be guaranteed an outfield of Jason Heyward and the two Uptons for three years.
  • The Diamondbacks like Mike Olt according to Olney (on Twitter), so presumably he would be someone they target during trade conversations with the Rangers.
  • A lot of people within baseball are surprised the Mariners were willing to give up so much for Upton according to Olney (Twitter links). "It's not as if [Seattle] is one player away from contending," said one evaluator. "Why give up that much now when you're still far away?"

Justin Upton Rumors: Friday

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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.

Mets Targeting Prominent Outfielders

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The Mets like Scott Hairston, but view the free agent as a fallback option in case they can’t obtain a bigger name outfielder, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links). The Mets would be happy to re-engage the Diamondbacks about Justin Upton, according to Heyman. However, they found Arizona’s asking price on Upton to be high earlier in the offseason.

We now have a precise sense of the Diamondbacks’ asking price for Upton. It appears that GM Kevin Towers agreed to a deal that would have sent Upton to Seattle for Nick Franklin, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor and Taijuan Walker. However, Upton invoked his no-trade protection and blocked the deal (latest details here).

The Mets' outfield currently includes Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lucas Duda, Mike Baxter, Jordany Valdespin, Andrew Brown and Collin Cowgill. GM Sandy Alderson has been eyeing outfielders all winter, but has yet to acquire an established player.

Justin Upton Rejects Trade To Mariners

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10:50pm: Taijuan Walker would have been the fourth player in the trade package to the D'Backs, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter).  Walker, a 20-year-old right-hander, was ranked as the 20th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America prior to the 2012 season, though he struggled pitching at the Double-A level last year.

7:40pm: The Mariners offered a four-player package to the D'Backs, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.  Arizona would have received Nick Franklin, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor and one of Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen or James Paxton.

6:06 pm: Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton invoked his limited no-trade clause to reject an agreed-upon deal between the D'Backs and Mariners that would have sent Upton to Seattle, reports Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The M's were prepared to give up "a package of young talent" in the trade, a return that Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has heard was "substantial" (Twitter link).

Though several teams have been linked to Upton over the last two seasons, the Mariners seem to be the first to propose a deal that has gotten the D'Backs to agree to move the 25-year-old outfielder.  As Rosenthal/Morosi note, the trade rejection could be gamesmanship by either Upton or the D'Backs — Upton could be trying to control where he ends up, or the Snakes are sending the message that if Upton wants to leave Arizona, his only option is Seattle.  The Mariners, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Cubs are the four teams on Upton's current no-trade list, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

The Braves and Rangers are still pursuing Upton, and we've heard in recent weeks that such teams as the Mets, Padres, and Orioles have also been in engaged with trade talks with the Diamondbacks.

Rangers “Moving On” From Justin Upton

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The Rangers made their "final offer" for Justin Upton to the Diamondbacks and now don't expect to continue talks with the D'Backs, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).  Texas is "moving on" after making their offer before the D'Backs agreed to their deal today with the Mariners that fell apart when Upton rejected the trade.  Arizona made one final offer to Texas for Upton on Thursday before agreeing to the Seattle deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).  The Rangers rejected that offer since the "price [was] too steep."

The Rangers and D'Backs have been seen as natural trade partners for much of the offseason, with prospective deals built around Upton going to Texas in exchange for Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar.  The Rangers were steadfast in refusing to include either shortstop in a trade, however, preferring to offer Mike Olt and Derek Holland as part of a package for Upton.  The Snakes have acquired Cliff Pennington and Didi Gregorius to address their need at shortstop this winter, though neither of those players would preclude Arizona from still going after Profar or Andrus.

Though Texas is now apparently out of the mix, there are no shortage of teams still interested in Upton. The Orioles, Mets and Padres have all explored trades for Upton in recent days, while Nightengale sees the Braves as the team that makes the most sense as a trade partner with the D'Backs.

NL West Links: Upton, Hall, Helton, Lee, Padres

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The big news out of the NL West today is Justin Upton's rejection of a trade that would have sent him to the Mariners in exchange for four of Seattle's top young players.  The deal would've been a big risk for both sides, though since the Diamondbacks have other outfield options to potentially replace Upton, the bulk of the risk would've fallen on Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik.  As a source opines to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), Upton may have "saved Jack Z's job" by rejecting the trade and keeping so much top-flight young talent in Seattle.

Here are some more items from around the NL West…

  • The "strained relationship" between Upton and the Diamondbacks makes it seem that Upton will be playing elsewhere by Spring Training, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
  • In a chat with fans at MLB.com that took place before the latest Upton news broke, Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall discussed all of the speculation about the outfielder.  "All of the media speculation is unfortunate, but not unusual," Hall noted, saying that other teams had been telling the media about their interest in Upton.
  • Todd Helton told reporters (including Troy Renck of the Denver Post) that he is recovering well from hip surgery and confirmed he will return for his 17th Major League season.  Helton is entering the final year of his contract with the Rockies and said in September that he wanted to play in 2013 if his health permitted.
  • Dodgers prospect Zach Lee has no regrets about choosing baseball over college football stardom, he tells MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Lee was the 28th overall pick of the 2010 draft and received a $5.25MM bonus to sign with the Dodgers instead of playing football at LSU.
  • The millions earned by Major League stars obscures the fact that most minor leaguers earn very modest paychecks, as MLB.com's Corey Brock explores how several Padres prospects make ends meet during the offseason.

Rosenthal On Padres, Orioles, Rockies, Phillies

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The Orioles showed serious interest in Justin Upton before talks with the Diamondbacks sputtered, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last night. Here are some more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Rosenthal hears from one executive who expects the Padres to make another significant move. However, the Padres like their group of young starting pitchers and aren’t inclined to make a strong play for one of the remaining free agent starters. San Diego could still trade for a pitcher such as Rick Porcello, Luke Hochevar or Aaron Harang.
  • Talks about a deal involving Upton and Chase Headley didn’t progress, Rosenthal reports.
  • The Orioles continue seeking starting pitching and Joe Saunders remains a target. The Orioles also checked in on Porcello, according to Rosenthal.
  • Though the Orioles spoke with Lance Berkman before he signed with the Rangers, they weren’t interested in spending big for the switch-hitting DH.
  • Jeff Karstens, Derek Lowe, Aaron Cook and Jair Jurrjens are among the possibilities the Rockies are considering. The Rockies wouldn’t offer all of those pitchers Major League deals, however.
  • Rosenthal suggests free agent reliever Rafael Soriano could be a longshot for the Rockies. Colorado would have to surrender its second round draft pick to sign the Scott Boras client.
  • The Phillies continue seeking a right-handed hitting outfielder, Rosenthal reports. They’re still considering free agent Scott Hairston and trade candidates Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells. It’s possible the Phillies will go with platoons in both corner outfield positions.

D’Backs, Orioles Discussed Kubel, Upton

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Monday: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds (via Twitter) that the Orioles have also shown serious interest in Justin Upton over the past few weeks, but talks between the two sides have sputtered. The Orioles are shifting their focus to starting pitching. They've expressed interest in bringing Joe Saunders back recently.

Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun adds (via Twitter) that the Orioles find Arizona's asking price for Upton too high.

Saturday: The Diamondbacks are looking to get young pitching from the Orioles in a trade for outfielder Jason Kubel, but Baltimore has been disinclined to do that to this point, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Arizona has a surplus of outfielders and some believe that they would prefer to trade Kubel than Justin Upton at this stage.

Kubel hit .253/.327/.506 with a career-high 30 home runs in 141 games with Arizona last year.  The 30-year-old is due to earn $7.5MM in 2013 with a mutual option for the same amount in 2014.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Mets, Diamondbacks Discussed Upton, Kubel

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The Mets talked to the Diamondbacks about potential trades involving outfielders Justin Upton and Jason Kubel, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). However, Arizona’s asking price is too high on Upton and Kubel isn’t a perfect fit for New York, according to Heyman. This suggests the Diamondbacks won’t be sending one of their surplus outfielders to the Mets, who continue seeking outfield depth.

The Padres, Braves, Mariners and Rangers have expressed some interest in trading for Upton this offseason. The right fielder can block trades to certain teams, including the Blue Jays and Mariners. Meanwhile, Kubel has also drawn trade interest from teams such as the Orioles. 

In a recent poll of more than 13,000 MLBTR readers, voters were split on whether Upton or Kubel would be dealt. There’s an expectation that GM Kevin Towers will make a trade since Arizona has numerous internal options including Cody Ross, Gerardo Parra and prospects Adam Eaton and A.J. Pollock.

The Mets have been eyeing outfielders all offseason, but Andrew Brown and Collin Cowgill have been their highest profile additions to date. If the season opened today, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lucas Duda and Mike Baxter would be among the leading candidates for regular playing time in New York.

Upton, 25, will earn $38.5MM through 2015, including a $9.75MM salary in 2013. Kubel, 30, has one more guaranteed year on his contract, which includes a 2014 team option. He'll earn $7.5MM this coming season.

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