The Phillies are seen as a favorites for B.J. Upton

Most Phillies fans around these parts have talked about Ruben Amaro going after Michael Bourn. But like Yoda said -- and now Jon Heyman reports -- there is another:

The Braves will make a qualifying offer Friday to Michael Bourn, and the Rays will make one to B.J. Upton, as well. But the top two free-agent center fielders on the market will turn those offers down and are more likely to sign long free-agent deals elsewhere ... Baseball officials still see the Nationals as the favorites for Bourn, while the Phillies are seen as an early favorite for Upton.

Boras bluster and perception aside, I’m not sure that Upton wouldn’t be the better signing. he’s younger than Bourn even though it seems like he’s been around forever. And one gets the sense -- and maybe it’s just wishful thinking, I’ll admit -- that Upton has some crazy monster season in him at some point. A blip season, perhaps, that one day later we call a fluke, but one like that all the same.

Moreover, Bourn would probably be more expensive than Upton, and that could be a consideration. It’s hard to say what the budget constraints are for the Phillies. Yes, they have a big payroll already, but they also have a new TV deal coming in a couple of years that will likely give them a lot more dough.