B.J. Upton Boosting His Trade Value with His Hot Start for Tampa Bay Rays

B.J. Upton has always been a five-tool player, but he's had trouble putting everything together in a single season.

He's played in just 30 games this season due to injury, but it seems as if he may be in line for a career season.

Through 110 at-bats, Upton owns a line of .300/.357/.482 with four homers, 16 RBI and an American League-leading 10 steals.

Hitting for a respectable average has always been difficult for Upton. He hit exactly .300 in 2007, but that also marks the last time that he's hit above .273.

Upton has been the subject of trade rumors for the past several seasons, and there's plenty of reason to believe that his name will pop up a few times again this summer.

Several teams would be interested in acquiring Upton, and the Tampa Bay Rays would be wise to trade him to a contender while his value is at its peak.

The Rays easily could have acquired a top minor league talent and a mid-level prospect for Upton in the past, but now they can possibly get two top-tier minor leaguers in exchange for their center fielder.

The depth of the Rays would help to make this move more plausible, as manager Joe Maddon has the uncanny ability to get the best out of otherwise mediocre players.

Desmond Jennings would play center when he returns from his injury, Matt Joyce could play left and Ben Zobrist could play right—much like the outfield looks now with Jennings on the DL.

Will Rhymes would then take over second base for Zobrist.

Upton is a free agent after this season and will most certainly look to cash in. It's unlikely that the Rays will re-sign him, so general manager Andrew Friedman would be smart to take some calls on his center fielder.