Atlanta Braves were in on Justin Upton sweepstakes?
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Braves were reportedly having discussions about bringing back former Silver Slugger outfielder Justin Upton before he signed with Detroit.
According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Atlanta Braves organization had reported interest in re-acquiring former Silver Slugger outfielder Justin Upton before the veteran ended up ultimately signing with the Detroit Tigers on Monday evening.
Upton played with his older brother Melvin Upton, Jr. with the Atlanta Braves in the 2013 and 2014 MLB seasons. While the 2013 club ended up winning 96 games and the National League East, the 2014 team finished below .500 and essentially forced the Atlanta front office to trade away many expensive contracts in their efforts to rebuild for 2017.
Rosenthal reports that “The Braves talked to Upton’s camp about a reunion as they rebuild and prepare for the opening of their new ballpark in 2017” and with the though of pairing “Upton and Freddie Freeman to form the nucleus of the team through 2021.” Justin Upton ended up signing a six-year deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $132.75 million.
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It’s interesting how the Atlanta Braves traded away Upton before the start of last season to the San Diego Padres only to consider bringing him back on a potential six-year contract. Obviously that seems a bit counterintuitive, as part of Atlanta’s rebuilding plans are to not overspend in free agency and acquire raw talent at the Minor League level.
However, Justin Upton is only 28 years old and that hypothetical six-year deal would have only kept him on the Atlanta Braves’ books until he was 34, still possibly in the back-end of his prime. Then again, we all know what happens when the Atlanta Braves give an Upton a massive contract, so perhaps general manager John Coppolella wisely passed on the opportunity to re-sign Justin Upton this winter.
Atlanta has not done much with free agent acquisitions this offseason, as most of their signings have been of a lower-profile. Most of the Atlanta Braves’ news have come at the expense of blockbuster trades like sending shortstop Andrelton Simmons to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or starting pitcher Shelby Miller to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Next: Yoenis Cespedes drawing interest from Atlanta Braves?
The closest thing to Atlanta going after a prized free agent this offseason has been with former New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, though it seems unlikely that Cespedes will agree to a short-term deal that Atlanta would prefer he sign. Cespedes has been on four different MLB teams in four years of service and may want long-term stability with his new big league deal.