As heard all around baseball, last night the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds completed a three-team, nine-player deal. As captivating as the deal was, more importantly, it was the players who weren't moved that made news as Justin Upton remained in a Diamondbacks uniform.
With that said, the Diamondbacks made it clear following the trade that Upton will no longer be discussed in trades.
"I would say with all the areas we've addressed, I would say it's highly unlikely that we move Justin," D-backs general manager Kevin Towers said.
Why? Because the Diamondbacks got what they wanted acquiring a shortstop from the Cincinnati Reds, Didi Gregorius.'
Gregorious moves to Arizona with major league experience. There are plenty of clips of Gregorius pounding the baseball into the dirt and finding ways to get on base. He has the making of not only playing shortstop, but also handing a top of the lineup spot with his ability to get on base and steal.
Though in a very short stint in the majors in 2012, Gregorius, whose real name is Mariekson Julius Gregorius, had 20 official major league at-bats and hit .300 with two RBI. He started four games and committed zero errors in 18 opportunities.
The Diamondbacks also acquired Tony Sipp, left-handed reliever (a specialist) and first baseman/outfielder Lars Anderson.
The talks during the Winter Meetings focused on moving Upton out of Arizona and possibly acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera from Cleveland. However, things were settled differently and, if GM Towers is being truthful, the Diamondbacks' focus now is spring training.
