Are you sitting down? Because this is going to come as an absolute shock to you.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Toronto Blue Jays have interest in struggling, out-of-favour Diamondbacks star Justin Upton. Because… of course they are!
“The Jays are one of the teams interested in Upton, sources say, and they’re deep enough in prospects to pull off a blockbuster,” he writes. “But Anthopoulos, as always, is operating on multiple fronts, pursuing numerous players and willing to listen on all of his own.”
He adds that it’s possible that the Diamondbacks may wait until the winter to deal him, though Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider Olney) “spoke with more officials who are convinced that Justin Upton is going to be traded.”
This, of course, isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the possibility of the Jays and Upton. Last week we wrote about the suggestion from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Adeiny Hechavarria may be a starting point between the two clubs on a potential Upton deal. And while it’s undeniable that the Jays don’t really need a hitter as much as they do pitching help– even with Jose Bautista hitting the DL earlier this afternoon– it can’t be stated enough that the possibility of acquiring a 24-year-old a year removed from being an MVP candidate, and the number one player on Keith Law’s December piece on the Top 50 players under 25, is not something you overlook in your quest for Wandy fucking Rodriguez.
Sure, get pitching too, if you can– the system is deep enough that they can certainly do both– but if the opportunity for Upton is there, you do everything you can to take it. I mean, it’s not like they have a bad track record of taking high talent cast-offs and soured-on players, making a couple mechanical adjustments, and turning them into valuable Major League pieces or anything.
So… there’s that.
Image via Harold Faltermeyer.
