The Red Sox have spoken to the Diamondbacks about the availability of young outfielder Justin Upton, according to a report from Jon Morosi, but there may not be any fire to this smoke.
When the news broke, Morosi cautioned that the talks were "not far advanced", but the idea of it certainly made sense. The Red Sox seem to be in the market for an outfielder this season, and while Upton is not coming off the best of seasons, there aren't many who doubt his start potential.
It didn't take long, however, for a conflicting report to emerge, as a source told Rob Bradford that the rumor had "no legs".
Any deal involving Upton would have to be something of a blockbuster. The Diamondbacks and the league in general are convinced of his value, and with Upton under control on a relatively affordable contract for the next five years, it's going to take a lot to make Arizona part with him. The Sox do have the pieces to make a potential deal work with their deep farm system, but would have to expect names like Casey Kelly, Daniel Bard, and Ryan Kalish to come up. Theo Epstein and co. have never been fans of sending away prospects, but if they were going to, it would probably be for a promising young player like Upton.