MLB Trade Deadline: B.J. Upton Will Cost a Lot for Tampa Bay Rays to Trade Him

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton will cost a MLB team a lot for him to be traded prior to trade deadline July 31. Jerry Crasnick from ESPN tweeted that a scout described Upton as, "overpriced."

Whether or not Upton is moved will answer the question about whether or not the Rays will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. Of all the trade deadline rumors, Upton's name comes up very frequently.

Desmond Jennings in Triple-A Durham has surfaced as the most likely replacement at center field for the Rays. Jennings is currently batting .275 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

The general feeling among fans is that Upton is under-performing this season and more of a liability than an asset to the Rays lineup. He is batting .234 with 15 homers, 52 RBI and 22 stolen bases so far in 2011.

The organization must feel differently.

Andrew Friedman is among the smartest GMs in the majors. He has been praised for the competitive team he has been able to assemble despite the monetary restrictions the Rays have. Yet, he has held on to Upton through all of the trade rumors this time each year.

This is because the Rays know what they have.  The team caught heat for trading Scott Kazmir a couple years ago and now he is out of baseball. Even the players they lost last offseason, none of them are really having amazing years. The Rays know their players better than anyone else.

What does this mean for Upton?

It means he has more value than perceived. At 26 years old he is still developing into the baseball player that he would be.

Last month, when speculation was that he would be traded to the Washington Nationals, Steve Slovinski from DRaysBay wrote a good piece estimating his trade value to around the $10 million mark.

The Rays also have leverage since they are still alive in the postseason hunt. Sure they are 6.5 games out of the wild card right now, but both teams ahead of them are divisional rivals that must play each other and could keep the gap manageable.

Since the season isn’t over and the Rays pieces aren’t expensive they aren’t forced to make any move which gives them leverage in trade talks.

Bottom line is if the team decides to move Upton or any other player on the roster they are going to expect in return a player that will contribute to defending the AL East title.

Jamal Wilburg is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

You can follow him on Twitter @JWilburg.