The calendar is about to turn to 2013 and the Major League Baseball season is drawing closer. There is still one player that I could see traded before Opening Day that would make a major difference on the upcoming season. Could the Boston Red Sox make a move to try to get Justin Upton from the Arizona Diamondbacks?
The Red Sox have upgraded in a ton of places this offseason including once already in the outfield with Shane Victorino but would the team think about trading another outfield piece to Arizona to get Upton? I think Boston may be persuaded to consider the idea of trading Jacoby Ellsbury to Arizona for Upton. Ellsbury has had injury problems over the past couple years in Boston and while very popular with Red Sox fans, Ellsbury could be shown the door to get a player of Upton’s quality. Boston could move Victorino to center field and stick Jonny Gomes in left field then.
It will take a player like Ellsbury for Arizona to consider making a trade of Upton and with several other teams jumping into the fray now, Boston might have to pull the trigger on something like this. The American League East is a jumbled mess right now outside of the Toronto Blue Jays and a trade like this could propel Boston right back into the talk for the division title. I can only hear the Red Sox fans now hating this idea but I know that they don’t want a season like 2012 to happen again and a trade of Ellsbury for Upton could ensure that.
Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.