A week ago, the most heated hot stove rumors were coming from the desert as the Diamondbacks were throwing 23-year-old outfielder Justin Upton's name around as trade bait.
However, on Monday, general manager Kevin Towers seemed pessimistic about dealing the young slugger, as he isn't about to dish a franchise player for peanuts.
"We want to win next year," Towers told MLB.com. "We're not talking about getting A-ball prospects back. It would have to be players that could help us in 2011."
Towers doesn't see this rumor lingering all offseason, and Upton will likely know his future plans by the New Year at the latest.
"I would say before the end of the Winter Meetings [Dec. 6-9] we should know," Towers said. "We're kind of walking through this thing slowly right now. If we are overwhelmed in a deal, great. If not, the fallback is we still have Justin Upton on our team, and that's a good thing."
