Audio By Carbonatix
It’s that time of the year, when Arizona Diamondbacks right-fielder Justin Upton — the first overall pick of the MLB draft in 2005 — is the subject of trade rumors.
Upton’s been booed by the home crowd at Chase Field quite a bit this year, as he’s not quite up to par with last year’s All-Star season that landed him fourth in the National League’s MVP voting.
Among D’Backs with at least 200 at-bats during the All-Star break, he’s sixth on the team in batting average at .273, behind Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill, Willie Bloomquist, Jason Kubel, and Gerardo Parra.
For the fans of the slugging percentage or OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging), Upton’s still sixth on the team in both categories.
Not quite the same as last year, although he has turned it up in recent weeks, as his batting average was still at .250 in mid-June.
As you can imagine, being the former number one pick and a contender for MVP just last year, just about half of the teams in the MLB are rumored to want Upton.
According to our local baseball trade rumorist, the team doesn’t deny that they’re looking at possible deals involving Upton.
Then there’s the thought that management’s just trying to light a fire under Upton to get him to perform better.
As for this morning’s question, should the Diamondbacks trade Justin Upton?
Cast your vote below:
