Justin Upton can be Another Adam Jones for Baltimore Orioles

It was not so long ago that Justin Upton was looking like a potential MVP candidate. 14 home runs and 48 RBIs through the first three months of the season was looking pretty impressive, albeit he has tanked so far in July. The overlying point is that Justin Upton is a talented individual with 179 career home runs and 584 career RBIs. 

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Sometimes, a change of scenery is all that is needed when a talented players starts tanking on a team that is similarly tanking.

CBS Sports is reporting that the Baltimore Orioles are looking into acquiring Justin Upton but they will face competition from the New York Mets, with Carlos Gomez also in the equation.

Justin Upton is the solution that Baltimore needs. Putting him in the outfield alongside Adam Jones makes an incredibly dynamic duo with superb defensive capabilities and similar offensive capabilities as well. The Orioles only have one really quality outfielder, and it is the elite Adam Jones. Adding Justin Upton would solve that. 

With Manny Machado anchoring the lineup, Chris Davis a shade of his 2013 self, Jimmy Paredes starting to slip and Matt Wieters fresh from his return from injury, Upton would be joining at the perfect time to establish himself as a force in the Orioles lineup while this seeming ‘changing of the guard’ is occurring.

The Baltimore Orioles are in a tough spot. They are playing in a very open AL East division, but they only have an average offense and an average pitching staff. One or the other needs to be bumped up into the above-average category and fast if they want to start to put up any sort of confident playoff run.

The offense is the easiest to bump up, given that they already have the fabric of a pretty good offense. Chris Davis may be skidding along but his power numbers are still good. Matt Wieters figures to be a prominent figure in the O’s offense yet again. Schoop is starting to come around and Jimmy Paredes is still one of the biggest surprises this season.

Adding Upton to that stock makes it a very solid lineup. He is a potential five-tool player, as he hits for average, power, has good speed and superior defensive abilities, not to mention a very good arm as well.

Did I just describe Adam Jones? Well, yes, but I also just described Justin Upton. Who doesn’t want two Adam Jones’s?

Let’s compare the two, statistically, throughout their tenures in MLB:

Shockingly similar, no?

The Orioles will have to fend off competition from the New York Mets and no doubt they will have to give up some quality to acquire such a piece, but all things considered, such a move is absolutely worth it. To have Machado, Jones, and Upton at the heart of the order with Chris Davis’ power potential and Matt Wieters usefulness, there will be plenty of runs scored to augment an oft-shaky pitching staff.

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