Atlanta Braves trade Justin Upton to San Diego for prospects
By Brad Rowland
UPDATE: The Justin Upton trade has been announced and confirmed by the team.
#Braves acquire four prospects and an international bonus pool slot from Padres in exchange for Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) December 19, 2014
UPDATE: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has additional details on the players who will be coming back to Atlanta in exchange for one year of Justin Upton:
lhp max fried, ss jace peterson, 3b dustin peterson, of mallex smith going to braves for justin upon and low-level player
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2014
so padres keep renfroe, hedges, wisler. but braves do well w/ fried, 2 petersons & smith. SD had very good prospect group
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2014
UPDATE: Jim Bowden of ESPN reports that part of the package will include Padres pitcher Max Fried, who underwent Tommy John surgery in August.
There have been rumors upon rumors swirling around Justin Upton and a potential trade for weeks. Now, it appears as if the Atlanta Braves have (finally) found a buyer for Upton and his expiring contract, as he is bound for San Diego to join the Padres, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
The 27-year-old Upton had a very nice season in 2014, posting a slash line of .270/.342/.491 with 29 home runs in 641 plate appearances. However, the now-former Brave is entering the final year of a six-year contract originally signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and with his asking price certain to be astronomical, the John Hart regime apparently decided to extract value with the return of a trade.
In return, the Braves are set to acquire young, prospect talent. Initial reports from Rosenthal indicate that the Padres will send back at least one of their top prospects, a list that includes catcher Austin Hedges, outfielder Hunter Renfroe and right-handed pitcher Matthew Wisler. The analysis of this trade will greatly depend on the ultimate return, and in addition, there appears to be the possibility of the Braves sending additional pieces (i.e. Chris Johnson) as part of the agreement to move Justin Upton.
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