Justin Upton on the block?

[Clem Fandango]

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Diamondbacks are listening to offers for outfielder Justin Upton.

Upton hasn't met the lofty expectations that were bestowed upon him as the No. 1 pick in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft, but he's only 23 and still posted a respectable .273/.356/.442 batting line this year with 17 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 133 games. It's going to take a serious haul of prospects to lure him away from the Diamondbacks' grasp.

[javy knows my name]

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Diamondbacks are listening to offers for outfielder Justin Upton.

Upton hasn't met the lofty expectations that were bestowed upon him as the No. 1 pick in the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft, but he's only 23 and still posted a respectable .273/.356/.442 batting line this year with 17 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 133 games. It's going to take a serious haul of prospects to lure him away from the Diamondbacks' grasp.

Oh man, that would be great if they sold low on Upton. I'd start the talks with BJax and 2 second tier prospects and cap it at Jackson and Archer/McNutt

[Guest]

I think you have to at least call and see what they'd want.

[KingCubsFan]

Would you give up Castro?

[Guest]

Would you give up Castro?

no, but only because it's so much harder to find a shortstop.

[javy knows my name]

Would you give up Castro?

Nope. There is a chance Castro can do with the bat at SS what Upton does (minus HR power) while poorly fielding RF.

[SouthSideRyan]

We probably can't afford his salary

[rawaction]

I'd trade a lot for Justin or his brother. Obviously, a lot more for Justin Upton, but I'm talking Jackson, a top SP prospect (Archer, Cashner, McNutt), and another top 15-20 prospect.

[jersey cubs fan]

We probably can't afford his salary

 

You can't have him and Kevin Millwood you spoiled brat.

[davell]

We probably can't afford his salary

 

You can't have him and Kevin Millwood you spoiled brat.

 

 

Yeah, it's becoming laughable if any of these reports are true. Levine just mentioned in his chat that we couldn't afford Orlando Hudson......

 

Upton is making under 5 mill in 2011 though, so he actually COULD be a possibility. Would you give up Colvin or Brett Jackson, one of Archer or McNutt, and one of Carpenter or Jay Jackson?

[Post Count Padder]

I'd trade a lot for Justin or his brother. Obviously, a lot more for Justin Upton, but I'm talking Jackson, a top SP prospect (Archer, Cashner, McNutt), and another top 15-20 prospect.

I'd prefer Justin, though he'd cost a lot more. BJ has a temper and work ethic issues and has only one really good season to his name. He's only 25 and still has potential, but the Rays wouldn't dump him for mid-tier prospects either.

[shnsajax]

I'd trade a lot for Justin or his brother. Obviously, a lot more for Justin Upton, but I'm talking Jackson, a top SP prospect (Archer, Cashner, McNutt), and another top 15-20 prospect.

I'd prefer Justin, though he'd cost a lot more. BJ has a temper and work ethic issues and has only one really good season to his name. He's only 25 and still has potential, but the Rays wouldn't dump him for mid-tier prospects either.

 

I'd prefer Carl Crawford and keep the prospects.

[davell]

I'd trade a lot for Justin or his brother. Obviously, a lot more for Justin Upton, but I'm talking Jackson, a top SP prospect (Archer, Cashner, McNutt), and another top 15-20 prospect.

I'd prefer Justin, though he'd cost a lot more. BJ has a temper and work ethic issues and has only one really good season to his name. He's only 25 and still has potential, but the Rays wouldn't dump him for mid-tier prospects either.

 

I'd prefer Carl Crawford and keep the prospects.

 

Carl's going to have to REALLY want to play for the Cubs and leave 100+ mill on the table.

[Northside Blues]

Would you give up Castro?

no, but only because it's so much harder to find a shortstop.

 

I don't even think Justin Upton would make 30 errors at shortstop. Of course I'm kidding. I would give up Castro if only because Upton is much more of a good bet longterm. He's got a chance to be a top 10 bat and is only 22. Obviously, I still wouldn't do it in our situation. If we had a hole in the OF and not 1B I'd pull the trigger. We've already got four serviceable or better OFs (granted none of them are impact level bats at RF). A lot of other teams would be interested him and would have a greater need than the Cubs, driving up their willingness to pay for him.

[SouthSideRyan]

Cubs should just release Castro if people aren't going to appreciate what we have in him.

[javy knows my name]

Or they should kill themselves, because he's about the bright spot on the big-league team for the near future

[dew1679666265]

Or they should kill themselves, because he's about the bright spot on the big-league team for the near future

 

I'd include Wells, Soto, Marmol and Marshall in that as well.

[davell]

Would you give up Castro?

no, but only because it's so much harder to find a shortstop.

 

I don't even think Justin Upton would make 30 errors at shortstop. Of course I'm kidding. I would give up Castro if only because Upton is much more of a good bet longterm. He's got a chance to be a top 10 bat and is only 22. Obviously, I still wouldn't do it in our situation. If we had a hole in the OF and not 1B I'd pull the trigger. We've already got four serviceable or better OFs (granted none of them are impact level bats at RF). A lot of other teams would be interested him and would have a greater need than the Cubs, driving up their willingness to pay for him.

 

 

Starlin Castro is a better fielder at SS than Upton is at RF, in all likelihood. Yes, he made 27 errors, but his range helped make up for that and certainly bodes well for his future defensively. But, that has ZERO to do with trading Castro. He just put up a .300/.347..408 line for us at a PREMIUM position. With the extra base pop he showed, it's fairly obvious to me anyway, that he's going to hit for some power eventually too, probably in the 15-20ish homer range It's going to be MUCH harder to find another Castro than it would be for us to find an Upton. Also, I have no clue why Upton is considered to be much more of a sure thing than Castro is. Are you still thinking he's no better than Alex Arias and Miguel Cairo possibly?

 

I know you just mentioned that you wouldn't trade Castro for Upton because of our situation, but you shouldn't want to trade Castro for Upton in ANY situation. We've got the pieces to trade for Upton, if we want to do it, without involving the cornerstone of this franchise whatsoever.

[Guest]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

[KingCubsFan]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

[Guest]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

 

There are better ways to get marginally better than trading Soto for Upton.

[KingCubsFan]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

 

There are better ways to get marginally better than trading Soto for Upton.

22 year olds with Upton's talent level don't come along very often.

[SouthSideRyan]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

 

There are better ways to get marginally better than trading Soto for Upton.

22 year olds with Upton's talent level don't come along very often.

 

Good thing catchers like Soto do.

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

 

There are better ways to get marginally better than trading Soto for Upton.

22 year olds with Upton's talent level don't come along very often.

 

Agree with this...He's got franchise type talent. Not sure I'd lose sleep over losing Soto if it was for a guy like this.

[davell]

Now Upton is the type of player that is actually worth the players you see bandied about as potential pieces for Gonzalez. If he's remotely available and you aren't trading Castro or Soto, it's difficult to conceive that you aren't getting the better end of the deal.

I'd trade Soto for him

 

There are better ways to get marginally better than trading Soto for Upton.

 

That's where I'm at too.