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When the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired veteran outfielder Cody Ross last week, is was really only a matter of time before the "Justin Upton is on the trading block" rumors sprouted up again. Well, they have officially arrived.
The D'Backs may prefer to trade corner outfielder Jason Kubel over Upton, but that will not stop them from "entertaining offers" for the young slugger, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:
Has Arizona's surprise signing of Cody Ross put Justin Upton back into play as a viable trade candidate?
Depends who you ask, but it appears a possible trade for Upton has become a reality again...
They will surely be entertaining offers, and as one person familiar with their thinking put it, flat out, "Someone will go.''
That means either Upton, the wunderkind who spends a lot of time on the trading block, Jason Kubel or Gerardo Parra is likely to be dealt.
Heymans adds that Parra is the most unlikely of the three to be traded because of his stellar defensive play -- he also is under team control through 2015 -- which pares things down to Kubel and Upton.
Kubel, 30, is coming off a solid first season with the D'Backs, in which he hit .253/.327/.506 with a career-high 30 home runs. While his raw numbers indicate that his trade value could be high, his poor defensive reputation and large home/road splits may make teams cautious about pursuing him. The lefty slugger is owed $7.5 million next season and has an equally-priced club option for 2014.
The 25-year-old Upton, on the other hand, is coming off a down year but likely has a sky-high trade value. The righty slugger -- who still has a massive upside six years into his big-league career -- is under contract through the 2015 season for $38.5 million.
