According to a tweet from Jon Heyman, the Texas Rangers are “working hard” to acquire Arizona Diamondbacks 25-year-old right fielder Justin Upton, and it will be interesting to see if the Diamondbacks ask for 26-year-old starting pitcher Derek Holland in a deal. Both players have garnered a high amount of interest on the trading block so far, but the D’Backs have not been announced as a team asking about Holland. Upton is a top target for the Rangers, and they might be willing to offer Holland and a prospect in exchange for Upton.
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The Rangers have plenty of prospects to give in a said exchange, but one of them will almost certainly not be shortstop Jurickson Profar. The best prospect in baseball, Profar is pretty much untouchable at this point. Jon Daniels also does not want to deal Elvis Andrus either, but something could happen there.
The Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Rangers, and Diamondbacks are currently trying to hammer out a four-team deal that would bring Upton to Texas and shake things up elsewhere. Huge names like James Shields could be moved in this kind of a blockbuster deal, and trade talks such as this one are one of the many reasons why the winter meetings are so important to watch closely.
Upton had something of a down year in 2012, but he was still solid with a .355 OBP. He has fluctuated between great and good seasons over the past four years.
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