After eight seasons in Tampa Bay, B.J. Upton's future with the franchise is not certain as he approaches free agency.

The belief is that the Rays will not make an aggressive effort to re-sign him. They selected him with the No. 2 overall pick back in 2002 and he sits second to Carl Crawford on the franchise's career list in games, at-bats, runs, hits, total bases, stolen bases and doubles.

Upton has shown flashes in his career, but remains largely inconsistent.

"He's in the top 10 of center fielders in the game," an American League executive said. "That's pretty good. But people were probably expecting him to be in the top three."

He hit three home runs last Sunday and has seven home runs in his last 10 games.