"Justin Upton Won't Be Cheap" -- Team Trading Justin Upton

Right now I don't have anything else to talk about besides the Justin Upton trade situation. Since the Mariners got involved -- deeply involved -- we've in turn become invested in the sweepstakes. We want to know what's going on with Upton, even if he's destined to end up with another ballclub, and maybe even a rival ballclub. With that in mind, here's the latest update, which says absolutely not one single thing. Jon Heyman:

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers said he isn't lowering his trade request for star outfielder Justin Upton in the wake of the monster Mariners deal that didn't go through.

"I'm not taking less," Towers said here in a brief interview at the Scouts Foundation dinner. "I'm in no hurry."

Towers suggested the Seattle deal, which got a lot of attention around baseball as a rather large package, should be looked at as the baseline for another deal, not the ceiling.

This is one of those things that just didn't need to be written. It's a Justin Upton update that isn't in any way, shape, or form a Justin Upton update. The guy trying to trade Justin Upton didn't go on record as saying he's in a hurry to trade Upton on the cheap. That's what this is. And nobody would say that, because why would you say that, why wouldn't you say exactly what Kevin Towers said. I'm not going to sit here and say that the Diamondbacks don't have any leverage -- they were already basically going to trade Upton, and they negotiated for the Mariners package -- but Upton is a goner and people know it. Towers will take the best offer that's presented to him by a team to which Upton can and will go.

There can be value in having access, which I think is unquestionable. But I don't understand quoting people who have obvious agendas. It doesn't serve any meaningful purpose, and you end up with filler quotes, leading to filler written content. Filler written content is basically like soda -- sometimes you might think you want it, but it's never as good as you want it to be, and you're just generally worse off by the time you've finished. Your brain is dissatisfied, and it's not like your body's doing cartwheels. Soda is just awful. Filler written content is just awful. So is this post. Maybe I'm just part of the filler machine.

I am fascinated to see how the Upton situation works out. You should be too. No, forget that, I shouldn't tell you what you should and shouldn't do. At best, that's impolite.

Justin Upton Whiffing Against The Mariners

Justin Upton swinging and missing against pitches thrown to him by various Seattle Mariners. This is intended to make you feel better about things.

What We Know About The Justin Upton Trade

Details have been filled in on the nixed Justin Upton trade to Seattle, and so let's continue to discuss the thing. And let's discuss how the thing might not be over.

Justin Upton's Surplus Value

What is he worth trading to acquire?

Picking One of the Big Three

The Price Of A Justin Upton Trade

Word's mostly out on what the Seattle Mariners would've sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Justin Upton trade. It's a pretty substantial package, indeed.

USSM: Justin Upton Trade Talks Maybe Not Dead

Hello there! This is a stream update, and I hope that you found it without too much trouble. I'm going to try something new, by which I mean the purpose of this update is to link to something somewhere else, instead of delivering original LL content like usual. Sometimes it's worthwhile to outsource. More accurately, sometimes it's worthwhile to not do what somebody else already did.

Anyhow, what you've already heard is that Justin Upton refused a trade to the Seattle Mariners. Lots of people who get traded to the Mariners would probably shake their heads and say "no", but for Upton, his no carries some weight, as he's got a partial no-trade clause with the Mariners included. The Mariners and Diamondbacks agreed to a blockbuster Upton trade, and Upton so far isn't having it. I say "so far", because this might not be dead. Most of you probably read USS Mariner already, but just in case you don't, read this. That's Dave, talking about how the Mariners might be able to push this through. I'll excerpt a bit:

Right now, Upton is under contract for the next three years, with guaranteed salaries of $9.75 million in 2013, $14.25 million in 2014, and $14.5 million in 2015. The team could potentially offer him a player option for 2016 — likely valued in that same $15 million range — or offer to convert the 2015 portion of his guaranteed years into a player option, allowing him to opt out and become a free agent a year early if he’s not enjoying his time in Seattle.

Go over the whole thing, because it'll take you like three minutes. If you need, subtract those three minutes from time you might've spent answering emails later. Your loved ones and co-workers can wait; you've got Justin Upton information to consume. There's no guarantee that talks here will be revived; it's possible that Upton simply isn't going to get dealt to the Mariners. It's possible the Mariners are done trying. But there's room to go from here, at least in theory. The Mariners could try to change Upton's mind. Upton could change his own mind if a different trade to another team doesn't materialize in the near future. No-trade clauses are strategic, and Upton probably isn't entirely opposed to the idea of playing for the Mariners. It's just not his preference right now, given his contract situation, and given his trading situation. Things change, and among those things could be Upton's thought process.

The hard part was done. The M's and D'Backs agreed on the players. All that's left is clearing the other hard part. Maybe. Maybe not, but, maybe.

Mariners Trade For Justin Upton Sort Of

Justin Upton To Keep Mariners Offseason Interesting