O's met with Justin Upton's Agency (Reynolds Sports--Brother of Harold Reynolds)

[birrman54]

Are signing Upton and Davis mutually exclusive' date=' or would signing one put to rest the potential signing of the other?[/quote']

That would seem to be an awful lot of money. Nearly $45M between the two of them and still need an SP.

[canonfaz]

Upton would also allow us to let Trumbo be the mostly full time 1B.

[Orioles0615]

I like Upton and certainly batting average is a poor stat to determine offensive value. Buuuut, for a guy that doesn't hit a ton of home runs, I'm not loving that .250 he put up last year.

But I like that he's not a free swinger, plays good D, gets on base a bit.

He hit 26 in San Diego last year, that's not too bad.

[jtschrei]

The question for me is whether Upton is what he is at this point or is there still some unlocked potential there?

MLBtrade rumors projecting 7yrs - 147M. I can't see the O's coming near that. I could see our offer being, at most, 5 - 100M.

[25 Nuggets]

He and Heyward are the only two guys I would be ok losing an 11-14 pick for. If we can't resign Davis, Upton would be a great fit. This would be a hell of an everyday lineup if we add Upton and Pedro Alvarez.

1 Reimold (or preferably left-handed outfielder acquired in a Britton trade) RF R

2 Machado 3B R

3 Jones CF R

4 Upton LF R

5 Trumbo 1B R

6 Pedro Alvarez DH L

7 Wieters C S

8 Schoop 2B R

9 Hardy SS R

Still need a left-handed bat or two, but it is shaping up.

Looks good to me -- of course Alvarez is a Boras guy too so, we'll see if signing Upton throws a wrench in those negotiations (and Span's) alongside Davis's.

[25 Nuggets]

The question for me is whether Upton is what he is at this point or is there still some unlocked potential there?

MLBtrade rumors projecting 7yrs - 147M. I can't see the O's coming near that. I could see our offer being, at most, 5 - 100M.

If that's approximately what they're offering Davis, I can certainly see the Orioles coming near that. There's probably going to be an opt out somewhere in the deal.

[Brion McClanahan]

I would like to see the Os get both Upton and Gordon. Gordon would be the LH bat and high OBP guy the Os need. Forget Alvarez who would only be a DH. The Os would potentially have the best OF in the AL. I would also bat Manny 1st. You want your best hitter getting the most ABS in a game. Manny is the Os best hitter at this point, and he has speed.

1. Machado 3B

2. Gordon LF

3. Jones CF

4. Upton RF

5. Trumbo 1B

6. Wieters C

7, Schoop 2B

8. Hardy SS

9. Reimold, et. al DH

Also, how about Jaso as a DH guy?

[Sir_Loin]

You're right, that's solid. He'd do fine in Camden Yards, no doubt.

30-35 easily in the AL East's small parks. You look at the balls he hit, like Trumbo, many that were outs in the NL West woul dhave been HR here in the AL East.

Let's not forget that Jones has been vocal about getting more African-American players in baseball and more specifically, in Baltimore. They're friends and attended eachothers weddings. Plus for icing on the cake, Upton is from Va even though he just build a home in Phoenix.

[Camden_yardbird]

What Gordon gets will go a long way to determining what Upton gets. Though I think Upton is the best value in the market right now and would really like to see the Orioles go get him. I would love to see what he and Jones can do.

[theobird]

I would like to see the Os get both Upton and Gordon. Gordon would be the LH bat and high OBP guy the Os need. Forget Alvarez who would only be a DH. The Os would potentially have the best OF in the AL. I would also bat Manny 1st. You want your best hitter getting the most ABS in a game. Manny is the Os best hitter at this point, and he has speed.

1. Machado 3B

2. Gordon LF

3. Jones CF

4. Upton RF

5. Trumbo 1B

6. Wieters C

7, Schoop 2B

8. Hardy SS

9. Reimold, et. al DH

We definitely cannot/will not afford both Upton and Gordon. I think its probably a stretch to afford Upton and Span. But that is the two that I would love to see in Baltimore. Span hits first, Manny #2.

[jsn5688]

If we were to get Justin Upton do we have to take Melvin Upton also? Lol Seems like they kind of come as a package deal.

[24fps]

The question for me is whether Upton is what he is at this point or is there still some unlocked potential there?

MLBtrade rumors projecting 7yrs - 147M. I can't see the O's coming near that. I could see our offer being, at most, 5 - 100M.

Dollars aside, I would be more comfortable going seven years on Upton than seven on Davis.

[Sir_Loin]

If we were to get Justin Upton do we have to take Melvin Upton also? Lol Seems like they kind of come as a package deal.

Melvin is with the Padres, Justin is a free agent.

[Sir_Loin]

Dollars aside, I would be more comfortable going seven years on Upton than seven on Davis.

Absolutely but the Baltimore fans have come to love and admire Davis and his prolific HR. Emotions aside, Upton is the best value here and probably the best value free agent on the market.

Davis-very streaky, one year removed from a sub .200 average

Heyward-value is tied up in defense and speed which don't age well, isn't a consistent 20 HR/100 RBI guy

Cespedes-doesn't get on base much, first year he hit 30 HR, already 29, low OBP doesn't bode well for someone who just had a career year

Upton-gets on base 35% of the time, improving defense, only 28, can steal 20 bases and hit 30 HR here in Camden.

[25 Nuggets]

We definitely cannot/will not afford both Upton and Gordon. I think its probably a stretch to afford Upton and Span. But that is the two that I would love to see in Baltimore. Span hits first, Manny #2.

Upton, Span, Jaso. Yes it's a stretch, but I like this lineup:

1. 3B Machado

2. LF Span

3. RF Upton

4. CF Jones

5. 1B Trumbo

6. DH Jaso

7. 2B Schoop

8. C Wieters

9. SS Hardy

Yeah, I have Span and Machado swapped just to break up the righties a bit. Note Wieters is batting eighth.

Edit - swapped Upton and Jones. Upton gets on base more and would steal more bases, plus Jones has that reverse split.