Jan 23 — Arizona’s general manager, Kevin Towers, has spent the entirety of the offseason trying to trade starting right fielder, Justin Upton. Upton, who finished fourth in MVP voting in 2011, had a down year in 2012 in the midst of battling a lingering thumb injury. In Upton’s down year he still managed to hit .280 with an OBP of .355, while driving in 67 runs and hitting 17 homers. There are a lot of things I don’t like about the Diamondbacks trading Upton.

Trading the former #1 draft pick (2005) for prospects in return is a gamble. Upton has already proven himself at the major league level, while the prospects whom the D-backs would acquire in a trade could either turn out to be great, or be enormous busts like that guy who got taken before Justin Verlander in the 2004 draft. The uncertainty is my concern. They would basically be trading Justin Upton for Justin Uptons from seven years ago, and I think that would set the franchise back a few years while they wait for these prospects to develop.

Justin Upton is 25-years old. He still has plenty of time to blossom into a perennial MVP candidate, and I would hate to see that happen with him in another uniform. He has so much upside to him still, and could still become one of the best in the league. Most of the players who are the perennial MVP candidates in the NL are a few years older than Upton. Matt Kemp is 28, and Ryan Braun is 29.

With Arizona having five outfielders at the moment, trading Jason Kubel would be the option that I would prefer. Kubel had a good power year in 2012, with 30 HR and 90 RBI, but he is a liability in the field. He is much better suited as a designated hitter somewhere in the AL, and I believe there would be a decent market for teams that want Kubel.

Getting rid of Kubel wouldn’t leave much of a gap in the lineup as trading Upton would. Parra would slide into left, as he did in 2011 when he played in 141 games and hit .292. Eaton would play center, and I’m projecting a Rookie of the Year-like season from him. Upton would play right, as he has since 2007, and AJ Pollock would come off the bench. I think that would be the best case scenario for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona should assess needs at third base if possible. Chris Johnson can be a pretty good hitter at times, but is statistically among the worst fielding third basemen in the league (-9.4 UZR ranks him just ahead of Miguel Cabrera’s -10.0). And no, Kevin Towers, the Diamondbacks do not need another shortstop.

The only way I’d like the Upton trade, is if the Diamondbacks got an absolute ace starting pitcher in return. Chances of that are unlikely, therefore chances of me liking the Upton trade is also unlikely.