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The Texas Rangers have been in the market for an impact bat all offseason. They have been in discussions with the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding Justin Upton for what appears to be months now. As the months go by, Arizona continues to flip-flop on trading Upton. According to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Upton is once again on the block. 

The Miami Marlins traded virtually their entire roster to Toronto in December, and now are reportedly “willing to listen” to offers for Giancarlo Stanton, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

What is the best move for the Rangers going forward? Depleting their farm system to acquire Justin Upton or Giancarlo Stanton, or building from within? 

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Will Justin Upton be traded or won’t he be traded? That is the question.

Just when it appeared that Upton trade rumors had flatlined, reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks are still interested in dealing away their 25-year-old right fielder again have a pulse, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi.

D-Backs general manager Kevin Towers wanted a young shortstop included in any trade package for Upton. He focused on the Texas Rangers, who seem to have a surplus at the position with Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar. Yet Rangers GM Jon Daniels doesn’t want to deal either player. The Atlanta Braves weren’t keen on trading Andrelton Simmons either. 

However, once Towers got his man in Didi Gregorius through a three-team deal with the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds, it looked like the D-Backs were finally done with trying to trade Upton. The team and player could both move on and prepare for the upcoming season.

But then Arizona made one of the most puzzling signings of the offseason, inking outfielder Cody Ross to a three-year, $26 million deal. Suddenly, the D-Backs have more outfielders than they can put in the lineup at the same time. Towers now has to make a trade.

The initial thought was that Arizona would try to deal away Jason Kubel in something of a sell-high move. Kubel is coming off a season in which he hit 30 home runs with 90 RBI, but only batted .253 and is a defensive liability. He would be a fine addition to any team looking for left-handed outfield pop.

Besides, the D-Backs were no longer interested in trading Upton, right? 

But according to the Fox Sports report and ESPN’s Buster Olney, Arizona is open to the idea again. Perhaps it’s because Towers has discovered that he can’t get much in return for Kubel, who’s affordable at $7.5 million but may have had a career year last season.

Additionally, MLB teams seem more interested in versatile, athletic outfielders these days and Kubel doesn’t really fulfill those criteria. Ultimately, he might be best utilized as a designated hitter, which severely reduces his market. 

That’s not a problem with Upton, however.

At 25, he’s young enough to still improve significantly and has already shown himself capable of putting up MVP-caliber numbers. He also has a club-friendly contract, due $38.5 million over the next three years. No MLB team could get a player like Upton at those terms on the open market. 

The two teams that could have the best chance of landing Upton, according to Rosenthal and Morosi, are the Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Braves. Personally, I think the Texas Rangers would have to be in the mix as well, since they haven’t landed an impact hitter to replace Josh Hamilton. 

Seattle has to trade for a power hitter because the past two years have demonstrated pretty clearly that free-agent sluggers aren’t going to sign with the Mariners. Maybe after seeing how Safeco Field’s new outfield distances play, that could change. But Upton has the M’s listed on his no-trade clause and presumably has no interest in playing in the Northwest.

The Braves are a different story, Atlanta isn’t as isolated from the rest of MLB as Seattle is. The team is a playoff contender and made it to the postseason last year as a Wild Card. Perhaps most importantly, B.J. Upton—Justin’s brother—just signed a five-year, $75 million contract to play with the Braves. 

Could the brothers Upton play side-by-side in the Atlanta outfield? As you might expect, it’s a subject the two siblings have discussed in the past.

“It’s been a big conversation of ours,” B.J. Upton said to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “Obviously, he’s got another three years [before he’s a free agent]. Is it a possibility? Yes. Is it going to happen? We don’t know. But it’s definitely something that we are going to talk about.”

Maybe the Uptons are talking about it now, with rumblings that Justin is available on the trade market again.

Regardless of where he goes, Justin is surely weary of the frequent trade rumors. He said as much on Twitter, calling the most recent trade buzz “nonsense.” For whatever reason—whether it’s how he plays, a perceived attitude or the opportunity to get a load of prospects in return—Towers doesn’t seem interested in keeping Upton. 

Playing alongside his brother, along with a change of scenery in Atlanta, could be what Upton needs as well. He suffered a regression in his performance last season, batting .280 with a .785 OPS, 17 home runs and 67 RBI. Those are not MVP numbers. However, a thumb injury surely contributed to the dip in production. 

If playing together is something the Uptons have always talked about, the two would presumably be happy on the same team.

Would that make B.J. get on base more? His on-base percentage was .298 last year. Getting to play with his brother probably couldn’t make that much worse. But Martin Prado hitting in front of him, with Jason Heyward batting behind him will likely help more with that.

If Justin were able to hit between Heyward and Freddie Freeman as the Braves’ cleanup hitter, that could have a positive effect on his game. Yet Aaron Hill and Paul Goldschmidt both had fine seasons for the D-Backs and Upton struggled batting between those two.  

Both Justin and B.J. Upton struggled on defense last season, according to FanGraphs‘ Ultimate Zone Rating. Playing next to each other could help both of them improve, as they’ve shown excellent defensive range in the past. 

But would Justin play right field or left field? He’s never played anywhere but right field before, yet Heyward had an elite year defensively at the position, saving 23 runs more than the average right fielder. Do the Braves really want to mess with that? Or, is Heyward versatile enough that he can be moved to left, giving Atlanta three strong defenders in the outfield? 

Two brothers in the same lineup would certainly be a fun story to follow. It would be like watching Bill and Cal Ripken, Jr. play together with the Baltimore Orioles. OK, maybe it wouldn’t be exactly like that. Actually, it could be much better, considering how young both Upton brothers are and their potential to both hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases. 

Does Braves GM Frank Wren have the resources to make a deal like this happen? Can he build a package around Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado? Would he have to include both pitchers? That seems unlikely. But for another powerful right-handed outfield bat, Wren might consider parting with those prospects. 

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With the New Year almost upon us, the Seattle Mariners have yet to truly make the splash that most of the baseball world expected them to this offseason. General manager Jack Zduriencik has been turning over every stone in an effort to find an answer for the lack of offensive production that has plagued the Mariners for years.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported recently that—although most of the big-name free agents have signed—Zduriencik is still exploring all options:

#Mariners‘ Jack Z says team “wide open” to making other moves. Perfect world: Would like to get leadoff man, middle-of-the-order bat.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 27, 2012

Now the Mariners certainly have the money to sign one of those bats. In fact, Ben Lindbergh of Baseball Prospectus believes that signing (ESPN Insider Only) free-agent Michael Bourn would benefit Seattle more than anyone else.

But even after Bourn, Seattle still needs another middle-of-the-order bat to pair with recently acquired Kendrys Morales. But where is Seattle going to find this bat?

It’s not like there are any GMs out there who are open to getting rid of their middle-of-the-order bats!

Oh wait, there is. 

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports believes that with the recent signing of Cody Ross, general manager Kevin Towers of the Arizona Diamondbacks will again entertain the thought of trading away outfielder Justin Upton.

Acquiring Upton would not be easy. Many fans will cringe at the talent the Mariners would have to give up to acquire the power-hitting outfielder.

A trade of this magnitude would most likely require Seattle to relinquish two of the big three pitching prospects (Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen and James Paxton), either Nick Franklin or Brad Miller and two more lower-level talents with high ceilings.

Many fans will think back to the five-for-one trade Seattle made back in 2008 for Erik Bedard and use that as a reason why the M’s shouldn’t make this deal. But giving up five prospects for one star in Justin Upton would be the only comparison that these two deals would have.

Plain and simple, Bedard is not Justin Upton.

Other fans will point out that Upton hasn’t performed up to the expectations since he signed a six-year $51.26 million extension with Arizona in 2010. But would any Mariner fan complain about a two-time All-Star outfielder with career averages of .278/.357/.475, 25 doubles, 18 homers and 60 RBI? 

When it comes down to it, Upton is a franchise-altering player. Sure, Seattle may have to send away two potential front-of-the-rotation starters and a potential All-Star middle infielder.

But both of those labels come with a big word in front of them: potential. Upton is a two-time All-Star and one of the best young players in the game. Adding a bat like Upton’s to the Mariners would drastically improve what has been one of MLB‘s most stagnant lineups over the last few seasons.

It would offer manager Eric Wedge the flexibility to move young hitters like Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders, Kyle Seager and Jesus Montero into better spots in the order where they would be more likely to thrive.

As good as Seager was last year, imagine how much better he would be with a player like Upton in the lineup. It would take pressure of Montero and Ackley who struggled mightily at times last season to carry the load on offense.

And it’s not like Upton is some slouch in the outfield either. According to fangraphs.com, from 2009-2011, Upton had an average ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 7.3 while playing right field in Arizona. In that same time frame, former Mariner Ichiro Suzuki had an average UZR of 5.5.

Now Upton is not Ichiro defensively by any means, but it does show that Upton is more than capable of holding his own in the outfield.

The addition of Upton would make the Mariners a threat not only for a wild card but the American League West title as well. Remember, Seattle scored the fewest runs in the American League last season and still won 75 games. Imagine what adding a bat like Upton’s to go along with that of Morales’ would do for that win total.

This is a trade the Mariners have to make. Without drastic improvement from the offense in 2013, Zduriencik may not be around to see whether his highly touted prospects were worth holding onto.

A player like Upton doesn’t come around very often. This would be just what it would take to turn the Mariners into winners and Seattle into a baseball town again.

Upton would be the answer to many of the Mariners problems. Acquiring him would not only improve the team now, but it would show all free agents that ownership is serious about building a winner in the Pacific Northwest.

You want to live in a perfect world, Jack? Trade for Upton.

Then we’ll see how long it takes for a certain “leadoff man” to show up.

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The big news this week on the Justin Upton front is that the Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a three-year, $26 million deal with Cody Ross (details at ESPN). The addition of Ross could spur the Diamondbacks into moving the 25-year-old outfielder.

One of the teams to be mentioned as a potential suitor is the Texas Rangers. Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com said that the Diamondbacks may be ready to deal Upton to the Rangers if they are able to put together a prospect package to their liking. Durrett believes that the Rangers have a few prospects, most notably Mike Olt, who could be attractive to the Diamondbacks.

Olt is a power-hitting corner infielder who hit 28 home runs for Double-A Frisco in 2012. He was promoted to the Rangers late in the 2012 season, and he batted .152 in limited action.

There is almost no chance that the Rangers would part with highly touted shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar, as they have already cleared a spot for him with the departure of Michael Young this offseason.

Also, the Diamondbacks don’t seem to be in need of a young shortstop, as they acquired Didi Gregorius a few weeks back in the three-team megadeal involving the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds.

Another team to keep an eye on in the Upton derby is the New York Mets. Kevin Kernan of the New York Post believes that the Mets could be looking toward Upton in efforts to strengthen their outfield.

The Mets could obviously use Upton. He would be a huge upgrade over their current stable of outfielders that include Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Mike Baxter and Collin Cowgill. The real question is whether or not Mets GM Sandy Alderson has the prospects to initiate and complete a trade for Upton.

It’s highly unlikely Alderson will be willing to part with the likes of Zack Wheeler or the newly acquired Travis d’Arnaud. It would most likely take one or both of these prospects to have any realistic shot of offering up a trade for Upton.

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After a flurry of trades and moves, the Arizona Diamondbacks find themselves pretty well set for the 2012 season. According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, Diamondback managing general partner Ken Kendrick is happy with the offseason performance of general manager Kevin Towers, adding “It’s not over yet.”

The Diamondbacks appear to have a surplus of quality outfielders. Even after sending Chris Young to the Oakland Athletics, the Diamondbacks have Jason Kubel, Justin Upton, Gerardo Parra, A. J. Pollock and Adam Eaton.

With that much talent in the major leagues and some other good outfielders coming up through the system, like Alfredo Marte, it might make sense for the Diamondbacks to make another deal.

Buster Olney of ESPN says the Rangers might see Kubel as a consolation prize for their attempt to acquire Upton.

Arizona should resist the temptation to deal from its strength.

They have maintained their rotation depth with signing Brandon McCarthy and solidified their bullpen with acquiring Matt Reynolds and Tony Sipp. Heath Bell is still talented and will look to show his awful 2012 season was a fluke. Eric Chavez and Eric Hinske strengthen the bench. And young Didi Gregorius should do fine defensively at shortstop.

The trades and free-agent signings by Towers have filled each hole on the team.

But where will each of the five major league outfielders get their playing time? The answer is that the 162-game season tends to answer that question organically.

Injuries and slumps will find a way to cut down on someone’s at-bats. A hot streak will force someone into the lineup while the realities of a long season will cut back on another.

Upton is a potential MVP who should not be dealt for pennies on the dollar. Kubel is a veteran who still supplies pop. 26-year-old Parra can still play each outfield position. Pollock is a good base stealer and defender. The 24-year-old Eaton has excellent gap power and speed.

The Diamondbacks boast one of the deepest outfields, and for a team without the resources of the Los Angeles Dodgers playing in a division with the defending champion San Francisco Giants, that could be their biggest asset.

The team will be able to survive and compete with the top two dogs because of their depth.

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It looks like the Arizona Diamondbacks might not be pulling off the big blockbuster trade everyone has been anticipating. According to the Twitter feed of Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, Arizona’s general manager Kevin Towers says it is “highly unlikely” the team will deal outfielder Justin Upton.

The team has been making many moves to strengthen the squad that is just one year removed from a division title: Former Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy strengthened the starting-pitching staff. Former Colorado Rockies left-handed reliever Matt Reynolds will fortify the bullpen. And reliever Heath Bell can not possibly be worse than he was with the Miami Marlins last season.

Eric Chavez, Eric Hinske and Wil Nieves help give the Diamondbacks a solid bench. And Tuesday, according to The Sports Exchange (via Yahoo Sports), the Diamondbacks participated in a three-team deal.

The team parted with pitching prospect Trevor Bauer and relievers Bryan Shaw and Matt Albers. They brought in a young shortstop, Didi Gregorius, another lefty reliever, Tony Sipp, and first baseman Lars Anderson.

Towers patched the holes on the team and kept the core of young starters, the deep outfield and catcher Miguel Montero.

And he did not part with 25-year-old potential MVP Justin Upton. Unlike his brother, B. J., Justin has already put up all-star numbers.

The many rumors that circulated this offseason, including a wild one from Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (h/t Sports Illustrated) that involved the Philadelphia Phillies and Cliff Lee, are being put to bed.

The Diamondbacks will not sell low on Upton, who is coming off a down season. Instead, he is coming back to Arizona on a team that is not going to have many holes going while competing in a very tough National League West.

The Diamondbacks have Justin Upton under contract through the end of the 2015 season. In one of those seasons, Arizona could put it all together and win the second title in franchise history.

It would be sweeter if they could do it with the best homegrown player the Diamondbacks have ever produced.

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As the New York Yankees stick to their claim that a reduction of payroll is imminent this year, they must be forced to consider that a trade for Arizona’s Justin Upton might put them in the World Series. 

Coming off a disappointing four-game sweep in the 2012 ALCS, the Yankees’ loaded lineup showed surprising signs of weakness. 

Hit-or-miss approaches from guys like Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez and even Robinson Cano left New York with alarming strikeout totals and an early ticket home to the Bronx. 

So with limited resources and unwavering ‘title-or-bust’ approach that surrounds the Yankees, how is Brian Cashman going to get the job done? 

Here are a few reasons Justin Upton is the solution.

The Time is Right

If the statistical trend continues, the Yankees couldn’t pursue Justin Upton at a more opportune time. Through his first five full seasons, the Diamondbacks’ outfielder has shown spikes of production in alternating years. 

After what was then a career year in 2009, Upton followed with a disappointing 2010 before finishing fourth in the NL MVP voting in 2011. Injuries triggered another dropoff in production last season, begging the question: is 2013 the year Justin Upton truly makes his claim as one of baseball’s best?

Protection 

With the aging Alex Rodriguez and inconsistent production from Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson, the addition of Justin Upton to an already powerful lineup could give the Yankees the five-hole protection that was missing for much of 2012. 

The emergence of Robinson Cano as New York’s best all-around hitter has Joe Girardi pressured to bat him cleanup. However, without a contact hitter behind him, Cano’s value as a cleanup hitter is greatly diminished. 

Upton’s addition to the Yankees lineup would provide Girardi with the ultimate flexibility in crafting his batting order and give New York arguably the greatest No. 6 batter in all of baseball—in Upton or Teixeira. 

Supporting Cast

Another reason a trade for Justin Upton makes sense is the fact that he would likely benefit from a change of scenery. As the No. 1 overall pick from the 2005 Amateur Draft, Upton has been viewed as”the man” out in Arizona. 

With the pressure to produce in the pitcher’s ballpark that is Chase Field, it is somewhat surprising that Upton has put together such complete seasons at the age of 25. 

His addition to a talented, veteran lineup in New York would provide Upton with invaluable learning experience and likely alleviate much of the pressure that he feels on the West coast. 

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As trade rumors continue to swirl, one of the offseasons biggest trade chips, Diamondbacks‘ outfielder Justin Upton, is looking less and less likely to be moved.

According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports, Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick said that there is a “very high likelihood” that Upton will still with the team come Opening Day. Another member of the organization said Upton has a 90 percent chance of sticking around.

This is not the first time that the Diamondbacks have listened to offers on Upton, only to then pull him off the table.  But this time around, the team should have pulled the trigger on a deal.

Taken first overall in the 2005 draft out of high school, Upton made his big league debut just two years later at the age of 19.

By 21, he was an All-Star putting together a .300 BA, 26 HR, 86 RBI, 20 SB season and looking every bit the part of a budding superstar.

After a down season in 2010, he rebounded with a .289 BA, 31 HR, 88 RBI, 21 SB season in 2011 as he helped the Diamondbacks to a surprise postseason trip. 

Upton finished fourth in MVP voting that year.

He again took a step back this past season though, hitting just .280 BA, 17 HR and 67 RBI. It was not a bad season, as he scored a career-high 107 runs and improved his walk rate from the previous season, but it is safe to say that this is not where people expected Upton to be at the age of 25.

Despite his failure to truly breakout, he remains an intriguing trade target to a number of teams for more reasons than one.

The Diamondbacks managed to lock him into a six-year, $50 million deal prior to the 2010 season and he has three years and $38.5 million remaining on that deal.

This makes him a relative bargain, given his production and upside.

And it’s that upside that keeps trade suitors coming back.  At any point, Upton could put it all together and begin a decade long streak of .300 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI, 30 SB seasons.

It’s that upside that is the biggest reason why the Diamondbacks should have moved Upton this offseason.

Even coming off of a down season, his value may never be higher than it is right now with three years of control and plenty of time for teams to still dream of what he could become.

That’s not to say that that same upside won’t keep teams coming back to pursue him if he’s made available again. Look no further than Upton’s brother, B.J., for evidence of that.

The 28-year-old has put up an average line of .242 BA, 20 HR, 69 RBI, 38 SB the past four seasons.

Now he stands to cash in on the free agent market as much because of his power/speed combination as because of the hope that he will find the form that made him a .300 BA, 24 HR, 82 RBI, 22 SB player back in 2007 at the age of 22.

Yes, there will always be a market for Justin Upton if the Diamondbacks opt to move him down the road, and the Diamondbacks have as much of a reason to buy into the hope that he’ll break out as any team that may look to acquire him.

That said, an outfield of Gerardo Parra, Adam Eaton and Jason Kubel, with top prospect A.J. Pollock in the mix is still strong.

The young pitching staff is impressive, the bullpen is deep and the offense has plenty of other firepower in guys like Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero and Paul Goldschmidt.

The Diamondbacks are a team on the fringe of contention, and while dealing Upton may seem like a step in the wrong direction, it could just as easily be what pushes them over the top in the NL West.

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Before we begin this, in no way am I saying the Yankees are in-line to make a deal with anyone right now.

This was a topic that was brought up to me, and we are going to discuss it on here.

So with that out of the way, onto the story.

The New York Yankees have at least two holes in the field that they need to fill: catcher and right field.

Nick Swisher is not coming back in 2013, while Russell Martin has drawn the interest of several suitors, one of which is the Yankees themselves.

Now, if the Yankees wanted to make a big splash this winter, they could make a deal for one of those positions.

Of the trade scenarios that were brought up to me, two players were mentioned: Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins and Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Neither player is eligible to be a free agent for a while, so both would require the Yankees to make a major blockbuster to land each player.

Now, of Mauer and Upton, which player would be the better fit for the Yankees if they were ever to show interest in them?

Let’s examine the pros and cons and make a final judgment.

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Just a few days ago, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks were again interested in trading talented right fielder Justin Upton.

The return would be quite large for the Diamondbacks, and it’s probably a wise route to take for Arizona. With suitors potentially lining up to acquire Upton’s services, some may overlook the team’s standing in the back of the line—the longshots.

Well, that’s exactly what the Kansas City Royals are considered at this point.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic considers the Royals as “longshots” right now, though that means that there is some chance that a deal could be done.

Piecoro believes that Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas could be an attractive piece for the Diamondbacks. 

Moustakas is currently coming off a fine first full season in the bigs. He put together a line of .242/.296/.412 with 20 home runs, 73 RBI and 34 doubles.

While current third baseman Chris Johnson also played well last season, there’s no doubting the upside and talent of Moustakas. He would easily overtake Johnson at the hot corner.

So, if the Royals have an attractive option in Moustakas, what’s holding up a potential deal?

Well, the Royals seek starting pitching. Any trade that involves one of their top young bats would almost have to bring back top arms in return.

The Royals are obviously not in a position to give up any top arms either. They have a few potential studs in the minors, but the current staff makeup suggests that they are not likely to let them go that easily.

Upton would be a nice fit in right field for the Royals. He’d be able to stay a part of the team’s long-term plans given his age (25) while also helping them do their best to compete in the tough American League Central.

The Royals may actually be the ones reluctant to make a deal, however. With their search for pitching spanning all possible areas, trading away a top bat for someone other than a pitcher just doesn’t seem to be in the cards at this point in the offseason.

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