The Atlanta Braves dealt Justin Upton to the San Diego Padres on Friday afternoon in a six-player trade. Braves sent Upton and right-handed pitcher Aaron Northcraft to the Padres for left-hander Max Fried, second baseman Jace Peterson, third baseman Dustin Peterson and outfielder Mallex Smith.
New Padres General Manager A.J. Prefer decided he was going to go after big name players this offseason and that he’s done. This offseason San Diego has acquired three new outfielders which include Upton, Matt Kemp and Will Myers.
With this trade, it seems more evident that the Braves are looking to rebuild this team from the minors up and are more focus on the future than the present.
Atlanta’s President of Baseball Operations, John Hart, said after the trade “We’re trying to keep an eye on 2015, but at the same time, we didn’t want to be sitting here in a situation where we didn’t at least pay attention to what might be better for the Braves long term.”
If you look back at the past few months, the offseason has been quite strange for the Atlanta Braves. They traded away two of their top players in Upton and Jason Heyward but signed outfielder Nick Markakis. If you imagine shipping away these two guys, it’s easy to think the Braves are rebuilding but I’ll continue to say it…I think the Braves are just reshaping this organization…and for that matter, for the good.
Hart and friends are searching for the team that best resembles “The Braves Way” as it was back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. This means winning by good pitching, defense and getting runners on base to drive them in later. What Hart has compiled so far this offseason is just that – pitching, defense and contact hitters.
It’s tough to think about letting a 27-year-old with a career slash line of .274/.354/.476 in the prime of his career go but Justin Upton is no longer an Atlanta Brave. Upton went to twitter to thank the Braves fan base and to say he’s looking forward to his new opportunity.
Thank you to all the @Braves fans, staff, coaches and teammates. Excited for this new opportunity with @Padres . Can't wait to get going.
— Justin Upton (@JUST_JUP) December 19, 2014
Upton’s agent, Larry Reynolds, told MLB Network Radio that Justin will “never say no to anything” and “will take it as it comes” when they asked about whether Upton is open to an extension with the Padres. JUp was expected to hit the free agency market after this season, especially while he was still a Braves – mostly because the Braves weren’t going to resign him.
Reynolds also said that the Braves never approached the Upton team about a long-term contact. Which is not a surprise. Though the Braves would love to have Upton (Justin that is) on their team long-term, it just wasn’t going to happen.
Northcraft also went on twitter to thank the Braves organization…