There are theories everywhere on the Internet for why the Arizona Diamondbacks may be looking to deal Justin Upton before the July 31 trade deadline. While most folks don't believe general manager Kevin Towers will end up pulling the trigger on a deal, ESPN's scouting guru Keith Law does not think that will be the case. In fact, Law thinks Upton will be trade in the next few weeks, and that it would be more than a baseball decision.
Here is some of what Law had to say, courtesy of a transcript from Arizona Sports.
"I think they are very strongly motivated to trade him, and I just get the sense that Kevin Towers doesn't like him," he told Arizona Sports 620's Doug and Wolf Tuesday. "Not even just as a player, but there's something about Upton's personality or demeanor that Towers just doesn't like."
"I'm not really sure if the Diamondbacks are properly valuing Upton by making it so clear that they're not just willing to trade him, but interested in doing so sooner rather than later," he added.
"Unless you believe there is something seriously wrong with his makeup -- which, personally, I doubt -- why wouldn't you want him," Law asked. "What team wouldn't want a Justin Upton?"
From some accounts, the team that currently has him, and Law thinks the team is going about this whole process the wrong way.
And here's the money quote:
"For whatever reason, Towers just doesn't think Upton's going to play up to his physical abilities," Law said. "There's an entire industry of people who look at Upton -- even guys who've told me, ‘Yeah, you know maybe Upton isn't quite going to be as good as we thought he was coming out of high school, but I'd still take him.'
"There's 29 other clubs out there that are looking at Justin Upton and thinking ‘is Arizona crazy.'"
Law makes a very compelling argument and certainly knows a thing or two about how baseball operations work behind the scenes. Upton is immensely talented and there's no denying he has the potential to become a superstar; Towers knows this, and everyone else does. So why deal him now? Just about every club in baseball would be thrilled to add a player of his caliber to their roster, regardless of his mental or physical issues (if any).
This is just another chapter in an odd story developing in Arizona. The next few weeks are going to be very interesting for the D-backs.
For more on Upton and the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snake Pit.