Buried near the end of Bob Nightengale’s recent USA Today report about Nelson Cruz is this tidbit about the Rangers’ unsuccessful attempts to trade for Justin Upton:
The Rangers, trying to solve that power void, tried to pull off a blockbuster deal for Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton before the July 31 trade deadline. The Rangers offered starter Matt Garza, All-Star closer Joe Nathan and outfielder David Murphy, but they were rejected, two high-ranking club officials told USA TODAY Sports.
Tough to blame the Braves for turning that down considering both Matt Garza and Joe Nathan are impending free agents and David Murphy is a role player, but that’s definitely very interesting. I hadn’t heard anything along those specific lines, but there were several reports back in July suggesting the Rangers were open to trading Garza soon after acquiring him from the Cubs and also were shopping Nathan.
Upton, who cooled considerably after a big April to more or less match his career norms this season, is signed through 2015.
