Orioles inquired about Melvin Upton, Jr (BlueJays)

[Rene88]

It is difficult to have a conversation when you make a statement like this. If you aren't aware that SD has been actively attempting to dump U[[ton's salary for the past year, I don't know what to tell you. I;m all for a Ubaldo for Upton trade. I just see no reason whatsoever to give up anything else in the deal. SD either wants to save 5 million bucks or they don't.

Completely agree. But DD loves to give up our prospects and draft picks.

Plus, Ubaldo will succeed elsewhere because it's just mechanics and our organization can't fix a spare tire. So if he improves, it's a great deal for them. No reason to give up a prospect.

[Rene88]

I would also be fine to let Scott go. Pitchers rarely 'learn' control, and wild pitchers are rarely effective for more than short stints.

Upton would be a nice upgrade in the field over Trumbo or Rickard, and having his bat against lefties would be a boost over Reimold.

I really liked Ubaldo's character, but the only way I could stand to watch him pitch was through splayed fingers. Surely San Diego realizes he's got sometimes electric stuff, but his mechanics are a hot mess. If they want to try and fix him, then by all means, go for it. I hope he figures it out, they have nothing to lose overall. But with Baltimore in first place, they can't handle on-the-job reclamation projects.

I sat next to the scout's mom that signed Scott at the Rays game. She was a sharp cookie and she thinks Scott will be great as do many within the organization here, just an FYI. I would not trade Scott.

[Rene88]

"Deal not yet close" seems to be an important detail.

[Sanfran327]

I like this idea because I like what this potentially does for the top of the batting order. Upton and Kim 1-2 is a great leadoff duo, and there's a lot of thunder behind them. This probably drops Jones to 6th or 7th though, which might not be a bad thing, as it makes the lineup that much deeper. Imagine this:

Upton - RF

Kim - LF

Machado - 3b

Davis - 1b

Trumbo - DH

Jones - CF

Wieters - C

Schoop - 2b

Hardy - SS

That's ridiculous. Unfortunately, there's no real way to get Upton, Kim, Trumbo, and Alvarez into the same lineup, but Alvarez coming off the bench in the playoffs is a weapon.

Question is, does this have any impact all on trying to acquire Hellickson? If we got both of them, how do you guys like our chances? I think it would be a massive upgrade to the whole roster. And getting an all star set up man back in O'Day is even better. I'm loving this possibility.

[bpilktree]

Completely agree. But DD loves to give up our prospects and draft picks.

Plus, Ubaldo will succeed elsewhere because it's just mechanics and our organization can't fix a spare tire. So if he improves, it's a great deal for them. No reason to give up a prospect.

The Orioles did fix his mechanics last year when he was decent. This year he comes in with a changed one back to his old style and stinks again.

[Rojo13]

Where the hell would Upton play? Rf? So Trumbo goes to DH and that means Alvarez who has been way better than Chris Davis of late and one of the Os best hitters the last 6 weeks has no spot. Upton has no spot this year.

But he's about as good as Jones this year and he'd certainly have a place. If you think of it as we get Melvin Upton for five million that's a really good deal and you understand why San Diego wants a prospect.

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[Rene88]

Latest from Roch: http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/07/trade-talk-and-tonights-game.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

So here's my question. Since per this article PA is fine with just cutting Ubaldo, why in the world would DD give up a prospect for Upton?

And people wonder why I question DD.

Trade Pedro and get Bruce if you want to make an impact.

[Rene88]

The Orioles did fix his mechanics last year when he was decent. This year he comes in with a changed one back to his old style and stinks again.

Ubaldo will be fixed once he leaves here, just watch.

[Aristotelian]

Where the hell would Upton play? Rf? So Trumbo goes to DH and that means Alvarez who has been way better than Chris Davis of late and one of the Os best hitters the last 6 weeks has no spot. Upton has no spot this year.

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Upton plays LF vs LHP. He can start in RF when Trumbo, AJ, and Davis need off days. Defensive sub. Even if Upton doesn't play full time, the bottom line is he has more of a role than Ubaldo, so it is addition by subtraction.

I wonder if Reimold will be DFA. Borbon would be a better fit as a lefty bat.

[fearthenoodle]

If I were to hazard a guess, this deal is going to happen in the next 24 hours, because they need Ubaldo's spot for O'Day who they probably want to activate tomorrow (Monday at the latest).

[Rene88]

Getting someone productive > $20 million put in a pile and burned

But Upton's contract is not good (having a nice year this year). So you might take it on a salary dump (doubtful), so why would you give up a prospect when PA is fine with just releasing Ubaldo????

It makes no sense.

[wildcard]

The Upton/Jimenez trade would add about 816k to the O's payroll this year (when prorating the salaries for this year).

While the O's would add 3m to the payroll next year they would probably not resign Reimold who would cost 1.5-2m. Add the probability that Trumbo will be gone.

Upton's splits are pretty dramatic this year.

vs lefties: 282/337/576/913

va righties : 251/297/400/697

That makes him a platoon player probably sharing time with Kim in left. He also backup up center and probably gets in most games as a defensive replacement.

That he is friends with Adam could be a big factor in Upton accepting a role with less playing time for the rest of the year.

[Dipper9]

Ubaldo will be fixed once he leaves here, just watch.

So what? He stinks here and costs us games. He's no good to us, regardless of what he may do for someone else in the future.

[weams]

Where the hell would Upton play? Rf? So Trumbo goes to DH and that means Alvarez who has been way better than Chris Davis of late and one of the Os best hitters the last 6 weeks has no spot. Upton has no spot this year.

But he's about as good as Jones this year and he'd certainly have a place. If you think of it as we get Melvin Upton for five million that's a really good deal and you understand why San Diego wants a prospect.

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He would replace Joey Rickard and play right next season.

[thezeroes]

I would also be fine to let Scott go. Pitchers rarely 'learn' control, and wild pitchers are rarely effective for more than short stints.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ryanno01.shtml