Lack of Logic In Latest Upton Rumors

For a team that's supposedly not interested in acquiring him, the Yankees sure have been connected to Justin Upton a lot this offseason.  The latest rumor, as reported by Jon Morosi of FOX Sports on Sunday, has them interested in putting a package comparable to what Seattle offered together for Upton but, according to Morosi, also being unwilling to take on the 3 years and $38+ mil still owed to Upton.  Morosi suggests trading Curtis Granderson to Seattle as a way to help cut payroll in advance of trading for Upton, but this is where the train starts to come off the tracks.

First, trading Granderson to make payroll room for Upton would basically be a lateral move for 2013, not a move that improves the team.  Is an Upton-Gardner-Ichiro outfield any better than a C-Grand-Gardner-Ichiro one?  Maybe just a little if Upton rebounds to his 2011 form, but giving up prospects and trading away your best outfielder to get marginally better makes no sense.  And if the hold up really is not wanting to add payroll, then trading Granderson is hardly a fix for that.  He's coming off the books after this season anyway, so to move him now and weaken your 2013 outfield when he doesn't really affect the 2014 payroll anyway would be a classic "robbing Peter to pay Paul" scenario.

Most of what was discussed in Morosi's piece was his own speculation and hypothetical scenarios, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was some truth to it based on how the Yankees have conducted their business so far this offseason.  If money really is the hold up with Upton, then it's another example of the payroll goals getting in the way of smart baseball decisions.

Are The D-backs Gearing Up To Trade Justin Upton?

 (Still want.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

At the beginning of this offseason, Justin Upton was easily the hottest trade target on the market.  He was and still is practically a picture-perfect match for what the Yankees need, and after some waffling earlier in 2012 when rumors first started coming up about him I am fully on board with the idea of the Yankees going after him, even if they aren't.  The problem is that talks relating to Upton started quieting down as teams started signing other OF options, to the point that I had just assumed everything was off and Upton was staying in Arizona.

Now things seem like they are heating up with Upton again, especially after this tweet from Buster Olney yesterday.  With the rumor mill surrounding Upton ramping back up and the recent moves made by the D-backs, it's time once again to talk about the Yankees getting involved.

Justin Upton: Yay Or Nay?

(Courtesy of The AP)

The Yankees have been and continue to be without one of their starting outfielders.  The Diamondbacks are rumored to be interested in trading a young, talented outfielder.  The trade deadline is less than 2 weeks away.  It doesn't take a Mensa International-qualifying IQ score to connect these dots.  When somebody like Justin Upton is supposedly on the trade block, of course the Yankees are going to be involved in the rumors.  There hasn't been a ton of discussion about just how heavily involved the Yankees are in the Upton market right now, but my expectation is that the discussion will only intensify once the latest diagnosis on Brett Gardner is revealed and the deadline draws closer.

Regardless of what happens with Gardner, I don't think the Yankees are in a situation where they NEED to make a move, especially one that will incur as much lost-prospect cost as Upton.  But it's not every day that a player of Upton's caliber ends up being available, so what I'm struggling to answer for myself is whether or not the Yankees SHOULD go after Upton if Arizona is serious about moving him and he's serious about being willing to accept a trade to New York (one of his no-trade clause teams).  There's a lot of factors in play here, so allow me to work them all for myself to see if I can come to a conclusion.