For those Texas Rangers fans who felt the sky was falling over Rangers Ballpark for the past couple of months, as the Rangers have missed out on off-season target after off-season target, well, your lives just got a little worse.
The Rangers missed out on arguably their top off-season target, save Zack Greinke, when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves have agreed to a deal to send young star outfielder Justin Upton to the Braves, taking him off the market.
Upton, 25, is coming off a disappointing season and has been rumored to have some injury issues, which could explain why the Diamondback are so gung-ho about trading him. The former No. 1 pick hit just .280 in 2012 with only 17 home runs after hitting 31 in 2011. Now, he'll go to Atlanta where he will join his brother, B.J., in the Braves' outfield along with phenom Jason Heyward.
The Braves sent five players to Arizona in exchange for two. Remember the last time they did a 5-for-2 trade? It was Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Beau Jones to the Rangers for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay — the greatest trade in Rangers history.
This is a bit of a blow for the Rangers, who seemed to really have their sights set on Upton, and made a very competitive offer that was headlined by Mike Olt and included either Martin Perez or Cody Buckel, Leury Garcia and another prospect. That's a rich price to pay for someone who seems to be nothing more than a slightly better, and much younger version of Nelson Cruz.
But again, folks, it's not the end of the world. And it's not even February yet. Hold your horses.
