Justin Upton

[ewitkows]

The Diamondbacks are currently 39-43 and seven games out in the NL West, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that they would consider trade offers from Justin Upton if they fall further out of contention. They will target a third baseman if they instead move closer to contention.

 

Rosenthal says GM Kevin Towers is open to any type of deal, meaning they could buy, sell, or make a veteran-for-veteran swap that helps now. Upton has been involved in trade rumors before, specifically during the 2010-2011 offseason. The 24-year-old has hit just .266/.348/.378 with seven homers this year after placing fourth in the MVP voting last season. He's under contract through 2015 for approximately $41.9MM and is the type of player that will draw interest from every other team in the league if available.

 

Aram and Tplush for Upton? Hart moves to 1st full time aoki in RF Carlos the 4th OF and Green/ransom at 3rd

[Raw Biz]

Aram and Tplush for Upton? Hart moves to 1st full time aoki in RF Carlos the 4th OF and Green/ransom at 3rd

 

Sorry but no way that gets it done. Even though Upton is having a bad year, he's only 24 and has a solid track record. The DBacks will most likely be looking for younger, cost-controlled players (or rather they should be). 2 guys on the wrong side of 30 isn't the answer.

[SRB]

Aram and Tplush for Upton? Hart moves to 1st full time aoki in RF Carlos the 4th OF and Green/ransom at 3rd

 

Not even close. More realistic deal would be Gallardo for Upton.

[ewitkows]

It says they are looking for 3rd base help now and would consider a vet for vet swap. It helps both teams out.

[TooLiveBrew]

You honestly don't see the disparity in value between a guy in his mid-20s and a guy in his early 30s? I think something like Gallardo+Ramirez for Upton might get it done, but that would only benefit the Brewers in that they could shed Ramirez's contract. I like Upton, but I'm not really sure I'd want to move Yo to get him.

 

EDIT: and the 3B comment was if the DBacks climb back into contention. I read what you posted from the Rosenthal piece to mean that's what they'd do instead of dealing Upton.

 

Right now, Towers IMO is floating Upton in the same maner he did last time -- if he can find a GM who overvalues one young hitter to the extent that he'll overpay for said hitter, then Upton is available. Anything short of that, however, and Upton will continue to be a cornerstone player for the DBacks.

[Oldcity]

Would probably take Gallardo+Ramirez/Hart and more. They would probably want guys younger though, so I don't think the Brewers have what it would even take.

[RockCoCougars]

It would take a ton to land Upton, and I don't think that he'd be worth it.

[princeginterhallhelms04]

Personally would not go after Upton! Think he is a great talent and is young, but the D-backs must know or think they know something that they want to get rid of him right now. I'd assume it would take a package of MLB ready players/prospects and some younger prospects.

[torts]

why would the brewers trade for upton, in a position they have depth in, when the real need is bullpen help? this would be straight up stupid.

[JackNicholson1974]

I personally dont see how Upton gets Gallardo from the Brewers. Gallardo is worth far more than Upton has been and Gallardo is still young.

[Oldcity]

Upton had an .898 OPS last year at age 23. He has a ton of value, even after three mediocre months.

[nate82]

why would the brewers trade for upton, in a position they have depth in, when the real need is bullpen help? this would be straight up stupid.

 

Why wouldn't the Brewers trade for Upton? The Brewers have depth at OF but they do not have anyone that is as good as Upton is. If the Brewers traded for Upton I wouldn't be all that upset as he is an elite player. If the Brewers could extend Upton even further having an OF next year of Braun, Schafer/Gomez, and Upton would probably be the best OF in all of baseball. Offensively the Brewers would also be set for a long time with Upton and Braun in the lineup meaning the Brewers could easily trade Hart and they wouldn't miss all that much.

 

To be honest though the Brewers do not have enough to get Upton even with possibly trading away what they could get in a Greinke deal to the Dbacks. It would take Profar, Olt, and another player for the Dbacks to even seriously think about trading Upton.

[SRB]

If the Brewers could extend Upton even further having an OF next year of Braun, Schafer/Gomez, and Upton would probably be the best OF in all of baseball.

 

Braun/Upton/Chorizo sausage would be best OF in all of baseball.

[Warning Track Power]

Would probably take Gallardo+Ramirez/Hart and more. They would probably want guys younger though, so I don't think the Brewers have what it would even take.

 

If they would do a Gallardo, Ramirez & Hart for Upton & Cahill/Collmenter I would give it some very serious thought. I agree that they are likely looking for young 3B, which Hart and Ramirez are not, and young pitching which Yo is. This is all predicated of course on the Brewers ability to re-sign Greinke though. Losing Greinke via FA and Gallardo in this trade would mean a rotation of Cahill/Collmenter, Marcum, Fiers, Estrada & Narveson for next season. EESH!

 

Having said that, a lineup with Upton, Braun, Lucroy & Weeks would be equivalent to what we have now minus the A-Ram contract. I'd investigate this for sure.

[Lucroy fan]

I'd offer them Hart, Axford, Parra/Veras/Loe (one of them), and Green. I don't think thats enough but if they are willing to work within the parameters of Hart/Axford you keep talking. Upton is a cost controlled middle of the order hitter about to enter his prime and he plays in an organization that quite honestly has enough cost control young pitching right now, so if we can get him without putting in Gallardo or a top pitching prospect I say go for it.

[Oldcity]

Yikes. Justin Upton is one of the best players in baseball and he's 24. Parra/Veras/Loe? Those guys have zero trade value. Loe maybe a little. They certainly aren't going to get you any closer to Justin Upton. Green has almost no trade value at this point either.

 

Gallardo, Axford, Hart, Ramirez might get it done, but the Brewers would have to chip in money because AZ is taking on a ton of salary there.

 

Really, this is all a pipe dream. The DBacks aren't going to trade Upton to Milwaukee for what the Brewers could offer.

[Roderick]

Parra/Veras/Loe? Those guys have zero trade value. Loe maybe a little. They certainly aren't going to get you any closer to Justin Upton.

 

I agree. At this point I am not even sure if the Brewers try to keep Parra and Loe at their arby cost for next year. Maybe Loe if he comes in closer to this years cost versus $3M+. Veras only if he comes cheap and only because they will have to replace so many spots in the pen at one time.

[Lucroy fan]

Yikes. Justin Upton is one of the best players in baseball and he's 24. Parra/Veras/Loe? Those guys have zero trade value. Loe maybe a little. They certainly aren't going to get you any closer to Justin Upton. Green has almost no trade value at this point either.

 

Gallardo, Axford, Hart, Ramirez might get it done, but the Brewers would have to chip in money because AZ is taking on a ton of salary there.

 

Really, this is all a pipe dream. The DBacks aren't going to trade Upton to Milwaukee for what the Brewers could offer.

chip in Money? The brewers would have to give up 10-15 million to even out that deal. Ramirez has less value than Green does, because you can get a lot more on the open market with 30 million in cash than you could with just Ramirez. The fact of the matter right now in 2012 Upton is a bad clubhouse presence with a .270 avg and 7hrs. Yes, he will rebound, but its hard to say if his ego will prevent him from reaching the "hof potential" label he has had since he's been drafted. Therefore, he is a risk and that certainly effects his value. Upton is a Gary Sheffield type and those players are rarely traded for equal talent, because of the other factors/influences involved in trading him. Basically, if the D'backs want to move him it will be an addition by subtraction move on their part. I agree we don't match up well, because we have little cost controlled talent at the mlb/aaa level and our pitching prospects wouldn't interest a team that has probably has some of the best young arms in baseball in their system. It is a pipe dream, but never hurts to put in the phone call to gage how serious the D'backs are about moving him.

[nate82]

 

chip in Money? The brewers would have to give up 10-15 million to even out that deal. Ramirez has less value than Green does, because you can get a lot more on the open market with 30 million in cash than you could with just Ramirez. The fact of the matter right now in 2012 Upton is a bad clubhouse presence with a .270 avg and 7hrs. Yes, he will rebound, but its hard to say if his ego will prevent him from reaching the "hof potential" label he has had since he's been drafted. Therefore, he is a risk and that certainly effects his value. Upton is a Gary Sheffield type and those players are rarely traded for equal talent, because of the other factors/influences involved in trading him. Basically, if the D'backs want to move him it will be an addition by subtraction move on their part. I agree we don't match up well, because we have little cost controlled talent at the mlb/aaa level and our pitching prospects wouldn't interest a team that has probably has some of the best young arms in baseball in their system. It is a pipe dream, but never hurts to put in the phone call to gage how serious the D'backs are about moving him.

 

No Ramirez does not have less value than Green does and $30m buys you exactly Ramirez in the free agent market.

 

Are you talking out of your rear or do you know something that hasn't been reported about Upton? I have heard absolutely nothing like what you are claiming so I am going to with this being an outright lie as there is no evidence that supports your claim of Upton being a clubhouse cancer. Upton is definitely not a Gary Sheffield type.

[adambr2]

ARam and TPlush for Upton? I wish.

 

Frankly, we are a terrible fit for the D-Backs. We have a deep outfield, as do they. They have similar needs -- SS, 3B, young starting pitching. Maybe Gallardo and Ramirez gets it done if Arizona gets back in contention, but otherwise I'm sure they'd be looking for prospects.

 

Either way, I'm not sure that trading away the one high end starting pitcher that we have guaranteed in our rotation the next few years is going to make us better. So I just don't see it. There are a lot of other teams out there that are probably better fits and can make a better offer.

[Lucroy fan]

 

chip in Money? The brewers would have to give up 10-15 million to even out that deal. Ramirez has less value than Green does, because you can get a lot more on the open market with 30 million in cash than you could with just Ramirez. The fact of the matter right now in 2012 Upton is a bad clubhouse presence with a .270 avg and 7hrs. Yes, he will rebound, but its hard to say if his ego will prevent him from reaching the "hof potential" label he has had since he's been drafted. Therefore, he is a risk and that certainly effects his value. Upton is a Gary Sheffield type and those players are rarely traded for equal talent, because of the other factors/influences involved in trading him. Basically, if the D'backs want to move him it will be an addition by subtraction move on their part. I agree we don't match up well, because we have little cost controlled talent at the mlb/aaa level and our pitching prospects wouldn't interest a team that has probably has some of the best young arms in baseball in their system. It is a pipe dream, but never hurts to put in the phone call to gage how serious the D'backs are about moving him.

 

No Ramirez does not have less value than Green does and $30m buys you exactly Ramirez in the free agent market.

 

Are you talking out of your rear or do you know something that hasn't been reported about Upton? I have heard absolutely nothing like what you are claiming so I am going to with this being an outright lie as there is no evidence that supports your claim of Upton being a clubhouse cancer. Upton is definitely not a Gary Sheffield type.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/06/kendrick-expects-more-consistency-from-upton.html

http://www.hardballchat.com/2012/07/could-diamondbacks-trade-justin-upton-following-boos-and-team-struggles/

There have been talks about his effort and attitude since he played in the midwest league. I was literally sitting outside the South Bend dugout in Beloit when Upton was in a verbal altercation with one of his coaches, because he didn't think he should be playing there. There is a reason Brewers fans have stuck by Braun through all his public adversity and there are reasons the fans are constantly on Upton in Arizona. That doesn't mean he is a bad teammate, but just like his brother B.J. there have always been questions about his make-up. I don't know if all of them are warranted but they are out there. I mean if you were that good as early as he was you would probably be that cocky too. Why else would a 24 year old superstar given comps as highly as Ken Griffey JR be on the market? He is a tremendous talent no doubt but there are also reasons he is on the market.

[TooLiveBrew]

Fwiw, I heard exactly the same type of report on Justin Upton in talking with a guy who worked for South Bend while Upton was playing there.

[Raw Biz]

I didn't see anything in those links that said Upton had a bad attitude. I just saw that he was inconsistent, Upton said all decisions were ultimately up to the GM, and Upton was upset with fans that he was being booed. I think a lot of young players would be upset when they're being booed by their home fans. I think the decision to trade Upton is ultimately more about getting back more talent since he probably has a ton of trade value, even after his mediocre year so far. Obviously they're not going to give him away, so why not see what kinds of offers come in.

 

All that being said, it wouldn't surprise me if he had did have a bad attitude at times because, as Lucroy fan said, young players who are that talented at that young of an age sometimes come off as cocky and arrogant. It might just be "confidence" (like Braun says) but it wouldn't be unheard of. Lawrie seemed to have attitude issues and there was talk that Harper did as well, though I think Harper has handled himself pretty well in his time up this year.

[nate82]

 

chip in Money? The brewers would have to give up 10-15 million to even out that deal. Ramirez has less value than Green does, because you can get a lot more on the open market with 30 million in cash than you could with just Ramirez. The fact of the matter right now in 2012 Upton is a bad clubhouse presence with a .270 avg and 7hrs. Yes, he will rebound, but its hard to say if his ego will prevent him from reaching the "hof potential" label he has had since he's been drafted. Therefore, he is a risk and that certainly effects his value. Upton is a Gary Sheffield type and those players are rarely traded for equal talent, because of the other factors/influences involved in trading him. Basically, if the D'backs want to move him it will be an addition by subtraction move on their part. I agree we don't match up well, because we have little cost controlled talent at the mlb/aaa level and our pitching prospects wouldn't interest a team that has probably has some of the best young arms in baseball in their system. It is a pipe dream, but never hurts to put in the phone call to gage how serious the D'backs are about moving him.

 

No Ramirez does not have less value than Green does and $30m buys you exactly Ramirez in the free agent market.

 

Are you talking out of your rear or do you know something that hasn't been reported about Upton? I have heard absolutely nothing like what you are claiming so I am going to with this being an outright lie as there is no evidence that supports your claim of Upton being a clubhouse cancer. Upton is definitely not a Gary Sheffield type.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/06/kendrick-expects-more-consistency-from-upton.html

http://www.hardballchat.com/2012/07/could-diamondbacks-trade-justin-upton-following-boos-and-team-struggles/

There have been talks about his effort and attitude since he played in the midwest league. I was literally sitting outside the South Bend dugout in Beloit when Upton was in a verbal altercation with one of his coaches, because he didn't think he should be playing there. There is a reason Brewers fans have stuck by Braun through all his public adversity and there are reasons the fans are constantly on Upton in Arizona. That doesn't mean he is a bad teammate, but just like his brother B.J. there have always been questions about his make-up. I don't know if all of them are warranted but they are out there. I mean if you were that good as early as he was you would probably be that cocky too. Why else would a 24 year old superstar given comps as highly as Ken Griffey JR be on the market? He is a tremendous talent no doubt but there are also reasons he is on the market.

 

There is a reason he is on the market and it is because the Dbacks want to get more talent on their team and it has absolutely nothing to do with him being a clubhouse cancer or anything of that nature Bonds was a clubhouse cancer. If Bonds was put on the market for a trade back then I highly doubt it would be because he was a clubhouse cancer the reason he would be put on the market is because he is an asset. The team is going to sell an asset if they believe it is going to bring more assets back in return. Teams hardly ever trade a player away because they are a clubhouse cancer.

 

Going off of the vibe that the Dbacks manager thinks of Upton lack of effort and attitude is not something he would say about Upton. Given that Gibson is rather outspoken and doesn't really care about a players feelings he would come out and say it if he wasn't giving it his all or had an attitude problem. The last thing I will make a judgement on a players level of effort or attitude is what a fan thinks as they only see about 1/4 of what is going on. Most fans are completely irrational in terms of evaluating a player and will normally go to one extreme or another when looking at a player and make a decision. I am willing to bet that you will find differing fan opinions about Upton to him having no effort at all to him giving it all every game.

 

The links that you have provided actually go against what you are saying.

 

You can even take Weeks for example there have been fans who have questioned his work ethic all the way through his career with the Brewers. Does this mean that Weeks if he were on the trading block right now would be there for a reason because he has questions on his effort from some fans?

[Lucroy fan]

Raw Biz, Glad you brought up Lawrie, because with Upton I could see a similiar situation where there are rumbling of a "bad attitude" or whatever you want to call it and then four months later after he is potentially dealt just like Lawrie we see an ESPN feature explaining what exactly caused the parting of ways. I don't think it can be a decision on talent if they trade Upton by the DBacks brass, because you rarely get that kind of talent back. For every Texiera deal there are many times more Miguel Cabrera/ D-Train for Maybin/ Miller, Johan for Gomez and other failed prospets etc. etc.