Kevin Towers will listen...

[thecrow124]

On everyone on his roster, time to go see what it will take to get Justin Upton. This is the exact move I have been saying we need to try to make for the last month or so. I haven't done any research on what his trade value is, but he is under team control through 2016 or 2017 with $41.1 million remaining on his deal.
I will not even speculate on what it would take to get him, but I suspect a package of Cole, Taillon and Hansen would at least get him to listen. It would also not completely depelte our minor league system, so would not be out of the realm of possibilities.
If we could acquire him and not lose Marte, our outfield/lineup would be set to compete for years to come. Our rotation would be set through next season at the worst with McDonald, Burnett, Karstens, Locke/Owens/Wilson and Morton after the ASG. It also buys us time to allow our young minor leaguers time to develop without having to rush them, and no one would be calling for them before they were really ready.
If I were the GM of the Pirates, I would already be working on this deal.

 

[sychmd]

dont know much about upton other than the name.
he is young, turning 25 in aug.
never OPS over 900.
is on a team where 4 other guys are doing better than he is.
don't get me wrong, i can support pursuing him, but dont see us giving up any of our big 5. in 2 years, cole will be a better player, at the top of the rotation than upton will be straight up.

we have outfield depth and pitching depth. is OF ideal, no, but good enough.
if we get upton and trade 3 out of our top 5, we still have glaring holes at SS and C.
luckily, we are getting combined production from barajas/mcK, but

i actually thought the catcher they have, montero, would be relatively cheap and plug a hole, if he can play D and call a game.

 

[thecrow124]

Montero is not cheap. He just signed something like an $80 million extention.

 

[sychmd]

how many years.

we really need a catcher and a SS for the next 5 years,
nothing in the pipeline.

assuming alvarez hits and mcgehee has found his stroke to be a decent 1B, we need SS and C.
with cutch, marte, then presley, tabata(i think will come back from AAA strong) jones, sutton, then guys from the minors, i think we have OF.

walker, not sure what he will amount to, but hopefully, he will at least be average.

we have great bench players hague, harrison, sutton, mcK, navarro(will be good utility), but will one step up to be big time SS or 2B or corner OF.

 

[steelparrot]

I wouldnt trade any of those guys, much less all 3.

 

[pixburgher66]

Upton is good, don't get me wrong, and it'd be a great acquisition, but that trade would hurt the Pirates BIG TIME down the road.

 

[pixburgher66]

Sources: The Pittsburgh Pirates have begun trade talks to bring in outfielders Carlos Quentin and Justin Upton - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN

Good timing though, hahah.

I'm okay trading ONE of the top 2 arms, but it's going to take more. I'm sure, like the article says, AZ wants near MLB level talent. I don't think I want to give up Marte either...it's a tough spot.

 

[sychmd]

i wouldn't gove up either taillon or cole.
if they want major league ready pitching, take any of our AAA pitchers and an outfielder not named marte or hanson.

give them 3 prospects from our 6-20 list and a couple other AAA options they might like.

 

[steelparrot]

Two aces can put rings on fingers, thats why I wouldnt trade for Upton.

get the rental Quinton, Locke and Gorky should be enough for him.

 

[Darkstone42]

Upton would be a really good addition for several years. I wouldn't want to give up Cole or Taillon for him, necessarily, but I would deal Marte for him. Marte hasn't done anything at the Major League level, and I think his ceiling is either at or just below what Upton's done in his young career so far.

Yes, Upton's having a down year, but he consistently OPSes over .800, and has twice been very close to .900. He's a darned good hitter, and would be a huge upgrade in our outfield for years to come.

 

[Etrius24]

If they would take our catcher in the minors that is never going to hit enough to be a star.... And you could package Tabata, and a decent not elite arm for Upton I would do it... Upton has flaws... and he makes a lot of money to be playing on this team.

Long term I could see them creating space on the payroll for Upton though...Jones is Expensive and he could be shown the door after this season... So if they make the deal...They can trim some fat in a couple other areas to make it work.

 

[element1286]

I love Justin Upton, as talented as anyone in the league, 24, and signed for 3 more years at a reasonable rate. I can't figure out why the D'backs want to trade him when they are, talent-wise, the best team in that division. Makes me weary they know something we don't.

 

[thedddd]

I am not sure why they want to deal Upton either but I would hate to trade Taillon or Cole for him especially if Appel doesn't sign.

If Marte was involved for Upton I would not be too upset since Marte is 23 and Upton is 24 and light years ahead of Marte in development.

 

[Etrius24]

Have to agree with DDD on the point about Upton only being 1 year older than marte and way ahead of him on the development curve...

Well said!

 

[stillmatic32]

That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is Justin Upton has 2400 at bats at the major league level. Is he really going to improve? Marte has what, 200 at bats at AAA. Upton panned out freakishly early.

Also, why would the DBacks dump this guy if they didn't know something? He's almost 25, has had some strong years, and they have him locked up a few more years. I don't see why they would want to trade him. They're not out of the race. I'm sure all of this has been said at one point, but I am worried about this.

 

[Etrius24]

Well

The backs might want to rebuild... and I personally do not think there is much of a chance that Marte alone is enough to land Upton... I think it would take Marte and one of the better pitching prospects in the system... not Taillon or Cole...But the bucs have several strong prospects after you get past those two

 

[stillmatic32]

Well

The backs might want to rebuild... and I personally do not think there is much of a chance that Marte alone is enough to land Upton... I think it would take Marte and one of the better pitching prospects in the system... not Taillon or Cole...But the bucs have several strong prospects after you get past those two

I agree, I don't think Marte alone is enough either. I think they just put him (Upton) on the block in hopes of fleecing someone.

 

[Etrius24]

Stillmatics

I think they are looking for three pretty good prospects... IMHO