Would a Trade for BJ Upton Make Sense?

but his performance at the plate over the last few years is worrisome

I don’t think it’s worth trading Carter to acquire another OF. Yes BJ Upton is good, but after DDJ, our OF is suddenly Crisp/DDJ/Upton, which admittedly is nice, but we’d have to do something about Davis/Swingles/Buck/Jackson. Plus, we already have quite the logjam, and if Taylor/Brown/Wimberley start to look ready I don’t know what we’d do.

We need bats, but I don’t know if Upton is the answer, especially if it involves trading Carter.

He’s had two bad years in a row now, and his flyball percentage (and popup percentage) have steadily increased throughout his career…and somehow his power has fallen off of a cliff.

I wouldn’t trade Carter for Kemp though. Having Kemp for 2 years isn’t worth giving up someone with Carter’s power potential.

Folks thought that a Bailey/Green package either got the deal done or came awfully close to doing so.

Upton loses a lot of value if he isn’t playing CF. Just switching him from CF to RF costs you 10 runs due to the position penalty. Figure he’s worth +5 runs defensively in CF and that means he’d have to be a +15 defender in the corner just to break even, all ’cause you bumped him out of CF in favor of Crisp.

So, whatever package you favor, I suggest shopping Crisp to the losers of the Upton bidding war.

That’s the question I keep coming back to in my mind. I don’t know the answer, and I don’t know that it matters. But it’s something I think about.

Neither Kemp nor Upton has a perfect reputation. Both have had (at least mild) concerns about work ethic.

I would not be in favor of trading for Upton just to trade Crisp….

Coco, if he can stop breaking his pinkies, is awesome in CF, and I really just love his game. Now if you’re talking about moving De Jesus over to RF and putting Upton in LF then you might be on to something.

A change of scenery for Upton might help him turn things around, though.

I realize a lot of people are worried about Carter’s glove. And he did struggle at the start of his first full season of AAA. But this is also a guy with mammoth power who has shown the repeated ability to make adjustments while in the minors. He hit 319/421/637 in 135 AB for the River Cats in the 2nd half of 2010. I agree he might not be ready for Oakland on Opening Day but he should be one of the last prospects in the system the A’s should even consider trading.

Matt Kemp is an incredibly talented athlete whose play has been inconcsistent and whose prodcution has been largely based on his ability to post high a BABIP. He doesn’t walk much (he’s never posted a season with even an 8% walk rate. His defensive play in CF has been inconsistent. I realize there’s a price to pay for his potential but the original offer seems excessive given the lack of certainty in the production.

that guys always looks like he gives no effort at all. Drives me crazy. Pass.

But throw Carter out of the trade. WAY too much for a potentially bust-worthy guy in Kemp. They can have Ross instead. You could make the argument that Cardenas, Davis, and HRod could indeed get that done anyway with the NCF involved.

That being said, Im not trading Chris Carter either.

It makes sense. Not sure I want to do it, but there are only a handful of guys out there who have truly high upside and might be available right now for relatively little return, and Upton is one of them (Kemp is another).

Justin Upton = would trade back BA+Carter for.

but it might be too negative and I need to come up with actual alternatives before getting hating too hard but the shortlist looks like this:

Matt Kemp
Lance Berkman
Jermaine Dye
Vladimir Guerrero
Hidecki Matsui

Given the recent breakdown in negotiations between the Marlins and Dan Uggla, it now appears as if Florida is inquiring about what they could get in return. This piece by MLB.com’s Florida team reporter says that the Marlins are specifically asking about relief pitching. He also notes that they’re in the market for a catcher.

Florida likes cheap talent, so maybe Bailey OR Donaldson/H. Rodriguez for Uggla?

they might be able to acquire him for just reliever.

relievers sorry

http://twitter.com/JoeFrisaro/status/3505021505245184

http://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/3538517342814208

He would have been an interesting target.
Lots of talent and still very young.
Too bad…

its insensitive to those players who have lost jobs, they might have families and now cannot provide for them.

SEE HOW EVERYTHING CAN BE OFFENSIVE?

It seems like there’s a few alternatives to Upton that provide better upside.

One who isn’t young, but could provide the all-around player and power bat Beane’s looking for is Carlos Beltran. He’s been hurt some, but the contract/age (33)/injuries make him less painful to acquire, while still having plenty of talent and potential to have a Frank Thomas-type revival. (He’d also add the comic value of having all three of our OFs being former Royals…).

Another potential option could be Chris Young of the Diamondbacks. AZ has too many bats and not enough relievers, so a pretty sweet deal involving Bailey could work out, especially if we involve someone like Taylor or even Carter (AZ needs a 1B). Young’s got pop and baserunning, and again, is the sort of multifaceted player Beane is said to be looking for a la DeJesus.

perhaps his younger brother Justin? Seems the Diamondbacks are listening to trade proposals.