Now that the Braves have acquired Michael Bourn, it appears the market for Tampa Bay Rays’ outfielder B.J. Upton has all but disappeared.
The Giants acquired Carlos Beltran. The Indians traded for Kosuke Fukudome. The Phillies got Hunter Pence. The Braves just acquired Michael Bourn this morning. And the Nationals are still hot on the heels of Denard Span. If there’s still a team out there looking for a bat, they’re in hiding.
There have been some small rumors surrounding B.J. Upton, with Jon Heyman suggesting that a couple teams were still taking one last look at him (Indians, Pirates, and Reds). But at this point, I would assume there aren’t any teams out there that are willing to pay what the Rays are asking for Upton. The Rays can easily hold onto Upton — he’s under team control for another year and a half — so there’s no reason for them to lower their price just to unload him.
With two and a half hours remaining before the deadline, it seems unlikely that the Rays will pull off any majors trades now. It’s still possible, but with each minute that passes, it gets tougher and tougher to envision a scenario where B.J. Upton leaves Tampa Bay today.
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