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Where is Justin Upton going to land this offseason?
Saturday’s Say Hey, Baseball wonders where Justin Upton will take his talents to this offseason, two big free agents have signed deals and all the arbitration numbers you can handle.
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In about a month from now, we’re going to reach that magical date of pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training. We are that close to the beginning of camp and yet there are still a few big names who are still available on the free agent market, with Yoenis Cespedes being one of them and Justin Upton being another. While it appears that a team -- namely, the Orioles -- is starting to show serious interest in Cespedes, the same can’t be said for Justin Upton, whose name continues to be bandied out there without a serious suitor to his name.
Seriously, who’s going to make a legit pursuit of at Justin Upton? At this point it could be anybody: From the lowly regarded Phillies to the highly regarded Rangers, it really could be anybody on the contention spectrum at this point. To let you know just how wild the speculation is getting, the crew over at AZ Snake Pit suggests that the Diamondbacks should reunite with Justin Upton. It’d definitely fit the bill of being an extremely splashy move for a team that’s had an extremely splashy offseason already, wouldn’t it?
Either way, it’s still a bit strange to see Justin Upton still available at this point in the offseason and it’s still anybody’s guess as to where he’ll land. Yet, for some reason, teams just appear to be really hesitant to commit what could be big money and a loss of a draft pick to signing the 28-year old outfielder. Surely there are plenty of teams who are interested in having Upton on their team, but even at this late stage of the offseason, teams are still being shy about committing their future to one of the biggest free agents this season. Still, I wouldn’t hold my breath on seeing him sign a one-year deal. Let’s be real, here.
- Another player who had been uncomfortably floating around on the free agent market (until this morning) is Chris Davis, and a “troubling trend” may have contributed to his long wait to sign with a team.
- Friday was the deadline for teams and players to swap salary numbers ahead of a potential arbitration hearing, and MLB Trade Rumors is keeping track of all of the numbers that were exchanged.
- The Astros and Dallas Keuchel avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $7.25 million, which is a record for a starting pitcher in the first year of arbitration.
- The Royals agreed to keep Lorenzo Cain on board for a two-year deal worth $17.5 million.
- Speaking of the Royals, they have just signed Ian Kennedy to a five-year, $70 million deal.
- The A’s could be active in the trade market soon, but it probably won’t be for a left fielder.
- Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has a bit of a problem with giving up homers, but there are ways for him to curtail this issue.
- Alexei Ramriez will be a San Diego Padre next season, and that’s causing White Sox fans to wistfully reminisce on his long tenure on the South Side of Chicago.
- Fox has picked up a pilot for an hour-long drama called “Pitch,” which is centered around a story of the first woman to make it to Major League Baseball. The Melissa Mayeux effect is real, folks.
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