Rumors began to swirl yesterday that Diamondbacks’ GM Kevin Towers was open to hearing offers for any of his players, which included 23-year-old Justin Upton. Today, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports tweeted that the Red Sox have already contacted the Diamondbacks about Upton. WEEI’s Rob Bradford then wrote that the rumors have “no legs.” Morosi followed up his tweet with Ken Rosenthal in this article. The Fox Sports article states,
“The Diamondbacks are listening to offers on Upton, sources say, but Towers would need a “big” return to move him. Upton, 23, is signed to a reasonable contract that will pay him $49.5 million through the 2015 season.”
“Arizona would likely want three players for Upton — a backend reliever, a starter and a bat. But it’s not clear if there is a good match on players between the clubs.”
Justin Upton is one of the best young talents in the game today. Even in a down year — partly due to a shoulder injury — he posted a .273/.356/.442 line with 17 home runs, 18 stolen bases and was worth 3.1 WAR. In 2009 Upton ranked 28th in all of baseball in RC27 (Runs Created per 27 outs). Upton has been worth 7.7 WAR so far in his young career.
Let’s make this an open discussion. What would you give up to get Upton if you were the Red Sox GM? Would any prospect remain “untouchable”? Would you even pursue a Justin Upton trade given the likely asking price?