Trading Justin Upton a big risk for Diamondbacks

Kevin Towers is about to enter dangerous territory.

The Diamondbacks GM, known to be one of baseball’s biggest
wheelers and dealers, appears to be on the verge of
trading Justin Upton.

The rumors have been swirling for more than a week now,
and more and more does each report seem to contain a note
about how Upton doesn’t listen to his coaches or how team
executives are “not convinced Upton is a
winning player.”

Those kind of rumors leak when a team is looking to unload
a
popular player in hopes that the fans will turn against
the guy, making a questionable trade seem like a no-
brainer.

It seems to be working, as the fans have already begun to
turn against Upton.

You know, the guy who the D-backs selected first overall
in the 2005 MLB Draft, promoted to the big leagues in the
middle of a pennant race at the ripe old age of 19, went
to his first All-Star game at 20 and had a section of the
right field stands named after him, all before the 2011
season, where he finished fourth in the NL MVP voting.

To say the Diamondbacks were counting on Upton to be a
star would be an understatement, just as saying he’s had
his share of struggles this season would be.

Upton, for all intents and purposes, has underachieved as
a professional. And yet, should Towers and the D-backs
decide to move him, they’ll undoubtedly get some talent in
return.

But the risk, as Towers himself noted on Arizona Sports
620’s Doug and Wolf Wednesday, is that the 24-year-old
finally gets it and becomes the player everyone expected
him to be.

“I think anytime you’re talking about players like Justin
Upton there’s always that chance that if you end up moving
him it could backfire on you, but you have to have
confidence in yourself, in your evaluators.”

Of course, because no team would ever make a deal under
the assumption that it would turn out to be a bad move,
and teams don’t usually aim to hand over future hall of
famers.

But it has happened — it does happen — and Towers may
very well decide to take that risk over the next few
weeks.

And if he does, the move will define his entire tenure as
the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, because
this is a trade most feel he does not have to make.

Sure, Upton’s batting average is nothing special, his
power numbers are lacking and his effort wanes at times.
His game is not where many thought it would be at this
point in his career, and his struggles seem to epitomize
all that is wrong with the 2012 Arizona Diamondbacks.

There’s a chance Upton will not get better, and in that
case a move should be made to unload the guy while he
still holds great value.

Yet, for all his faults, he is still one of the
more feared hitters in baseball, is still capable
of getting hot and carrying the team, and is still
someone many believe one can build a team around.

And he’s under contract at a reasonable price, too.

Towers has maintained that while he is not afraid to make
a trade, he will only pull the trigger if it makes the
team better in 2012 and for the future. The issue with
trading someone like Upton, though, is he could help in
2012 and in the future.

Is Towers willing to risk letting him do that for a
different team?

That’s what he has to determine over the next few weeks.
This isn’t Kelly Johnson for Aaron Hill and John McDonald,
which was a clear win, or Jarrod Parker and Ryan Cook for
Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow, which looks like a loss.

This is trading a guy who the Arizona Diamondbacks were,
once upon a time, going to be built around before he
reaches what should be his prime.

Is it really a risk worth taking?

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