WHY THE YANKEES MAY NEED JUSTIN UPTON

Yeah, that's right, I said it. I'm the same guy that is fine with the Yankees staying the course with their $189 million cap in 2014. Bottom line, I read a tweet today and I got excited. Despite the fact that the Yankees are on a mission to keep costs low, we tend to forget that Cashman's a genius at the shell game, even if it is with the Diamondbacks Kevin Towers, a guy too familiar with the Yankees farm system.

Someone mentioned an unusual scenario today:  Curtis Granderson, "and prospects" for Justin Upton.

Silly? Maybe, I mean Towers will need to have his mind blown to unload Upton. So the question is, what prospects?   Well, I have a few ideas and people will scream at me and tell me I'm nuts...the same Yankee fans that told me just how glorious Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos were.

 (In Photo: Manny Banuelos)
Remember the Killer B's? Yeah, Brackman's out of a job these days and Manny had Tommy John surgery and won't be back until 2014.  Dellin? Well, let's just say he's mediocre. No, look, it's clear the Yankees have good intentions when we try and raise talent on the farm, but we need to face facts...we're not good at it.

If I needed to ship a few guys over to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton, I'd quickly ship Curtis Granderson, David Phelps and Slade Heathcott. Not sure if that would suffice, maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. Hey, maybe it would also look like were overpaying, but look, there are so many pluses with Upton, the only downside for me personally is giving up Granderson, but this is business, so let's get real.

I love Granderson's bat. I love his fielding ability, but I hate his strikeout increase and truth be told, when the guy hits a slump, HE REALLY hits a slump. He's also 31 years old... Upton is 25.  Upton also hits a decent amount of homers each year. Plus, Upton's average is better than Grandy's as well. Since Curtis has been in the Bronx, Granderson can't get his average over .262 in 3 years. Sure, he's hitting homers, but he's not running enough for my taste, plus, again... 195 times...too much. Anyway, it's something to think about.

Many are pissed that I would even suggest David Phelps, but I need to be honest, I don't care for the dude and I feel like the Yankees are hyping him up like they have Manny Banuelos. I'm not buying it.  I really don't see Phelps as ever being a solid starter on the New York Yankees.  On the San Diego Padres... Or the Diamondbacks, yes. It's true, when we needed Phelps to step up, he did, but I see him as filler, not a "go to" guy.

And finally... there's Slade Heathcott. Yes, Yankees fans love him, as do I, but I wonder if he really is the future of the Yankees. Don't forget, the Yankees once touted Kevin Russo a future star on the Yanks, and now he's a minor league free agent most likely on his way out. My take on Slade is simple; We all like him, but sometimes you need to give away guys you don't necessarily want to flip. You roll the dice... I would.

What we get in return is Justin Upton, a guy that would be welcomed to the Bronx with opened arms. In fact, I remember back in 2011, we ran a poll here on BYB about who you readers wanted most in a trade.  Justin Upton was the guy. Read WHY YOU WANT JUSTIN UPTON IN A TRADE. The point is, you guys have your heads on straight and you aren't stupid.

Now, would my little scenario happen? Probably not, but I was also told by "baseball insiders" that Ichiro would never be a Yankee... Just saying...never say never.

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