As a Braves’ trade target, I’d hustle after B.J. Upton
B.J. Upton hustles on occasion. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
The Braves’ starting outfield for the first two games against Washington: Eric Hinske in left, Gregor Blanco in center, Melky Cabrera in right. Blanco began the season in the minor leagues, while Hinske was imported primarily as a pinch-hitter and Cabrera as a fourth outfielder.
The Braves’ outfield health: Lousy. Jason Heyward (bum thumb) just went on the disabled list. Matt Diaz (ditto) just exited the DL. Nate McLouth (sore head) is still there.
The good news: The Braves remain in first place.
The reality: They’ll need more outfielders to stay there.
The rumor: Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com reports that the Braves are seeking a right-handed outfield bat before the July 31st trade deadline. Morosi names three names: Josh Willingham of Washington, Corey Hart of Milwaukee and Jose Bautista of Toronto.
The caveat: All three will become free agents after the 2011 season, and we know how well the Braves do at keeping free agents. So any of the three would likely be a 14-month rental and would surely require the Braves to trade one of their minor-league pitching prospects. (Morosi mentions Mike Minor, the club’s No. 1 draftee in 2009.)
The better option (says me): B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay center fielder.
The story so far: Upton is one of the game’s biggest talents, but he’s also among its greatest mysteries. He’s hitting .226, and a guy this skilled should be able to bunt .300. He got into a dugout dust-up with teammate Evan Longoria over Upton’s disinclination to hustle after a ball Sunday, and Tampa manager Joe Maddon didn’t start Upton in Tuesday’s game. (Though not, Maddon said with a straight face, for disciplinary purposes. Just to rest the young man, who apparently wasn’t getting enough rest while playing center field.) But Upton was deployed as a sub, and he legged out an eighth-inning triple. So there.
The downside: Upton might not be manageable. He might continue to swing at everything. (He has more career strikeouts than hits.) He might play no better for the Braves than he has for the Rays.
The upside: He’s 25. He makes only $3 million (but is arbitration-eligible after this season). He’s right-handed. He plays center field. He is, as noted, a talent of the first rank, and we can’t really say that about any Braves outfielder other than Heyward. If/when Upton does figure things out, he’ll be a major star.
The obvious risk: The Braves’ clubhouse, never a boiling cauldron, is utterly harmonious at the moment. Upton could upset the equilibrium.
The potential gain: A first-place team would get a lot more talented in a hurry, and Upton won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.
Loading ...The upside for Upton: A change of scenery, which can’t hurt if he’s getting into it with Longoria, who’s the main man in Tampa. And a different managerial voice in Bobby Cox, for whom everyone loves playing. And the promise of an even different managerial voice when Fredi Gonzalez takes over next season. (Wait. Am I getting ahead of things here?)
The potential snag: Fredi Gonzalez doesn’t like guys who don’t hustle. Ask Hanley Ramirez.
The worst-case scenario: Upton comes here and continues to hit .226, which would still be an upgrade over McLouth, who’s hitting .176. The Braves don’t win the division and then, disenchanted, don’t tender Upton over the winter. Which means he walks away and the whole thing is written off as a Teixeira-sized fizzle.
The best-case scenario: Upton gives the Braves their desired right-handed bat, plays the best center field the Braves have seen since Andruw Jones discovered carbohydrates and re-invents himself as the missing piece on a championship team.
The bottom line: Me, I’d do it. Upton is a far more dynamic player than any of the three mentioned by FoxSports. (Hart is the most intriguing of the three — he has 60 RBIs — but he’d also be a mighty expensive quick fix.) Unless you believe Jordan Schafer, who’s hitting .221 at Class AAA Gwinnett, is still the center fielder of the future, the Braves must move to upgrade that essential position at some point. Why not now, I say? Why not upgrade with Upton?
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417 comments Add your comment
Creighton
June 30th, 2010
2:19 pm
I think we go for Hart and/or Willingham if we can get them by trading one of our pitching prospects and possibly dumping one of our other 5th string arbitration/contract OFs (Cabrera, Diaz, McLouth – though no one would want McLouth and his salary right now).
Look at our young pitching: Hanson, JJ, and Medlen are already in the rotation right now and will probably be there cheaply for several more years. Venters, originally slated as a starter, is slaying in the bullpen and could become a starter in the near future. Kimbrel should be untouchable and will be our next closer. Then, after those 5(!), you’ve got Teheran, Vizcaino, Minor, Delgado and Spruill all as Top 10 organizational players in the farm system. Not to mention, you’ve got out of options Chris Resop who was demolishing AAA hitters and the Braves have no where to put him.
In other words, even if we cordon off our MLB talent, Teheran, and Vizcaino, we still have some very good trade bait in pitching prospects, and in trading them we will still have plenty of good, strong arms to choose from.
The only problem is that you risk Hart and/or Willingham coming in and being the next McLouth.
I don’t like the Upton situation only because it would remind me so much of the Kenny Lofton deal. I don’t want to mess up the chemistry on this team.
kurula
June 30th, 2010
2:21 pm
i’d rather get crawford. i know he’s a free agent, but crawford offers a whole lot more and crawford in center gets this team to the playoffs. i think it wins the division. but i would only do it if i could sign him to a new contract. with chipper (most likely) retiring, they would have some money at least. i just don’t see it happening.
Jeff
June 30th, 2010
2:22 pm
New Cars — yes, hitters ARE a dime a dozen. Each year, the All-Star game is FILLED with names who you say “Who the heck is THAT guy?” There are a lot of John Doe, 26-year-old, right-handed outfielders who can hit .265 with 25 homers and 95 RBI every year.
My point is that we DO NOT need to give up top-flight minor league pitching — guys who will be our team’s nucleus in 2012, 2013, 2014 and beyond — for some 18-month rental. You give away top-notch prospects for a proven All-Star like Pujols or ARod or Cal Ripken… you DO NOT give away your organization’s best arms for a freakin’ BJ Upton.
frontofficedorks wake up.
June 30th, 2010
2:22 pm
actually, blanco is a good option rihgt now. He has the speed, he is one of the few guys i have seen that can lay down a nice bunt(what is up with the other guys on the team not being able to bunt?melky,really bad)blanco seems to want to do what he is asked to do to help the team win. I would not trade away the farm unless it is someone who at least has a chance of staying(like mcgriff)
Horner's Corner
June 30th, 2010
2:23 pm
Jeff (2:09 post)-
Solid opinions and well articulated. A+ post!
Mark Bradley
June 30th, 2010
2:24 pm
I would second that emotion: Sonny C. is very agreeable to be around.
wawel78
June 30th, 2010
2:25 pm
There have not been many prospects for any team that put up the numbers in the minor leagues that Komminsk did.
If Schaffer does not succeed, he will be nowhere near the bust that Komminsk was.
fayncdawg
June 30th, 2010
2:25 pm
I love his talent! PERFECT FOR THE LEAD-OFF! BUT….reminds me of another super-talented Tidewater VA athlete that once played on an ATL team. Hope BJ do’t own any pit bulls!
Jeff
June 30th, 2010
2:26 pm
Folks, read Creighton’s post at 2:19 p.m…. he is the voice of reason. You see all the pitching talent we have? All those names will be on our MLB roster by 2012 or 2013… Lowe, Wagner, Saito, OFlaherty, Kawakami, Hudson… they will all be gone or retired. Our staff will be Hanson, Jurrjens, Medlen, Resop, Venters, Tehran, Minor, Vizcaino, Delgado, Kimbrel…. we should be LOADED!!!
Keep those people in the organization and start drafting more Heywards and Chippers… the Braves are on the upswing and should have some good years in the next decade IF we don’t do something stupid like mortgage our future for a .226 hothead!!!!!!!!!!
Ted M
June 30th, 2010
2:27 pm
I’m not so sure the Braves would have to give up a top flight pitching prospect to get Upton. If Tampa wants to move I think they could only expect mid-level prospects.
wawel78
June 30th, 2010
2:27 pm
I still don’t understand why people complain about the Teixeira trade so negatively. Yes, the rangers have two very solid players out of the deal – Perez & Andrus. The other three are not good at all.
We got one of the best 1B in the game for a pennant run and a very solid LH pitcher for the bullpen. It was a calculated move for trying to win then.
John
June 30th, 2010
2:29 pm
“IF” they had only been able to keep Tex…yeah, wishful thinking. How bout JS/Blanco and McClouth for Pujols, I know I’m crazy to think that, but why not!
Jeff
June 30th, 2010
2:30 pm
Horner’s Corner — thanks for the support. I just think it would be a slap in the face to the guys who have got us to first place so far to go reaching for a questionable talent at this point. Give them a chance to finish what they started! AND KEEP GOOD PITCHING IN THE ORGANIZATION!
wawel78 — the reason the Tex deal was a disaster is that NOBODY thought Tex would re-sign with Atlanta… wasn’t gonna happen… and we did the deal anyway. AND, that team was so flawed, we needed more than just one bat to help — that team was NOT going to the playoffs even with two Texeiras.
CraZyTRaDeMaN
June 30th, 2010
2:30 pm
fayncdawg…… We already have the PERFECT LEAD-OFF hitter. starting 2B in 2010 AS game MARTEEEEN PRADO!!! This trade would be stupid unless we got him for mid level prospects only.
CraZyTRaDeMaN
June 30th, 2010
2:33 pm
kurula i’d rather get crawford.
Well, I’d rather get Pujols.
ryan
June 30th, 2010
2:33 pm
I like Justin Upton to but what about Dejesus out of K.C he has been hitting the ball pretty well to and he is cheap to.
count_schemula
June 30th, 2010
2:34 pm
Trade JJ and Schafer to Pittsburgh for McCutcheon
stevie zero
June 30th, 2010
2:36 pm
terrible,, terrible, horrible idea. braves need power and rbis and not attitude, low batting average and lack of hustle. always interesting ideas mr bradley but this one needs to be destroyed before some idiot thinks its a good one.
j
June 30th, 2010
2:36 pm
He is a cancer and Longoria should have whipped his a$$
ugalaw
June 30th, 2010
2:38 pm
I’ll pass on Upton. I like the possibility of going after either Willingham or Hart. I understand they’re only locked up for another 14 months, but getting them won’t require nearly the bounty of prospects that we had to surrender to get Teixeira. Also, they’re not going to command 20 million dollars in free agency, so re-signing them if they work out isn’t the long shot that it was with Teixiera.
wawel78
June 30th, 2010
2:39 pm
I guess we’ll agree to disagree. I don’t think it was a disaster, even now.
Creighton
June 30th, 2010
2:40 pm
Anyone else on here think Evan Longoria looks like Forrest Griffin? Especially when he was nose-to-nose with Upton.
DawgDad
June 30th, 2010
2:41 pm
“The reality: They’ll need more outfielders to stay there.”
Thank you, Mark, for acknowledging the obvious. You are on to something here in regards to focusing on center field. Ideally, Diaz comes back and hits like – Matt Diaz – against lefties; in that case left field is solid enough with Hinske in platoon. Ideally Heyward comes off the DL strong and hitting. No way the Braves block the path for his return.
That leaves center field as the hole to fix. Ideally Gregor Blanco gets a real shot to earn the center field job beginning right now and earns it, or McLouth comes back and earns the job. Earning the job needs to happen very quickly this month and that pretty much scratches McLouth.
Don’t trade for a rent-a-player, make a real substantive trade. Find a young emerging talented center fielder and convert one of the starters. Get somebody that can run and play defense and LEAD OFF, and be a presence to be reckoned with on the basepaths. This team needs speed and it needs to get stronger up the middle. This type of trade would help the cause.
Now we are seeing what NOT landing a Holliday or Bay means to the club. The outfield as presently constituted isn’t going to take this team anywhere in postseason.
DawgDad
June 30th, 2010
2:42 pm
DeJesus would appear to be a good fit.
kurula
June 30th, 2010
2:43 pm
crazytrademan– i’d say that crawford would be available for the right package. don’t be so smarmy.
Tom
June 30th, 2010
2:43 pm
This is for the people who keep bringing up the comparison to Jeff Franceour! He has a .270 batting average, 10 home runs with 42 RBI’s, not too shabby! Better numbers than any OF on our roster, except Hinske(who really does not need to play everyday for him to be effective)!
DawgDad
June 30th, 2010
2:44 pm
Crawford if we sign him first.
Blackberry Cobbler
June 30th, 2010
2:44 pm
The outfield is fine, not great but ok.
What the Braves need is more and better pitching. JJ is back but an unknown; Lowe just isn’t reliable; and Hanson has not been that sharp lately.
If the Braves don’t start playing better within the East Division, it all want matter anyway.
Nick
June 30th, 2010
2:46 pm
Good talent, not worth all the baggage.
Pate
June 30th, 2010
2:48 pm
Bring Andruw Jones back.
Melky way
June 30th, 2010
2:55 pm
Here we go with Jermaine Dye I think if that move would have been made at the start of the season,but i see nothing wrong with sighning Dye,however do not look for that move to be the solution.
CraZyTRaDeMaN
June 30th, 2010
2:56 pm
kurula What are ya gonna give em KK, McLouth, Lowe, JoJo, Barbaro? The Rays are in a Pennant Race Crawford is not available unless they fall way out at the dead line. They would want 2 of our SP prospects. No way FW would give up that much for 3 month rental. There is to many reasons why that won’t happen.
DaveDawg96
June 30th, 2010
2:57 pm
Oh man, this is an AWFUL idea. We don’t need the clubhouse headache, especially from someone hitting .226. Just what Bobby Cox wants for his final months of managing.
Bradley, what’s with the horrible ideas lately? You’re better than this, son. Let me beat you to the punch on your next idiotic brainstorm: The Falcons should trade for Michael Vick!
Jeff
June 30th, 2010
3:00 pm
DawgDad at 2:41 p.m… you make some good points, but I will counter with this: for the Braves, at this point, it’s pre-mature to say “well, we need this guy to be effective in the postseason”… at this point, Atlanta’s goal just needs to be to GET to the postseason… then we can worry about how to advance.
While I agree with you that we should have pursued a Bay or Holliday in the offseason, I must admit I’m pleasantly surprised in how this team has done so far… truth be told, I am actually pleased with the lineup we have right now and don’t see the need to make a big change.
You seem to not have a lot of faith in how this team is currently constructed… but I say if they got us to first place this late in teh year, and if we’ve had this success WITHOUT a lot from Jones, McCann and Escobar… then we’re doing ok. If Chipper, McCann and Yunel EVER start to hit a hot streak, we might take off like a rocket. Let’s wait until the end of July and see how things are going…..
droopydawg
June 30th, 2010
3:01 pm
A .226 hitter who is also a world-class s***head?!? Where do we sign up? It’s like if you could get Milton Bradley when HE was 25, except with a 70 point lower average and a terrible steal rate despite great speed! Aces!
droopydawg
June 30th, 2010
3:02 pm
DaveDawg96: Nice.
droopydawg
June 30th, 2010
3:03 pm
I like the idea of DeJesus or Willingham. Corey Hart has power but cannot hit for average and is not a great fielder. Bautista has power but cannot really be expected to hit over .240, which could be a problem paired with Glaus if he regresses to his pre-injury .235, 45 homer form.
GT Alum
June 30th, 2010
3:08 pm
So, Mark, are you trying to make sure Bobby has a heart attack and doesn’t even finish the season? Upton makes Andruw seem mature.
Did you not read your colleague’s post about the Braves being a tougher, grittier team this year? Upton apparently doesn’t want to get his uniform dirty or look like he has to try hard. He’d fit in with this team about as well as John Rocker did.
NickGranite
June 30th, 2010
3:09 pm
Hmmm. Promotes disharmony in the clubhouse, currently batting .226, doesn’t hustle and has more career strikeouts than hits. What’s not to like, let’s go get him!
Melky way
June 30th, 2010
3:12 pm
As much as I hate to admit it because most of the time I do not agree with most of the blogers,the B J upton move would not be a good one,because of the pay out in players. the Rays would want to rob the braves of starting pitching. Not a good idea.
justin
June 30th, 2010
3:17 pm
I really like this idea. wren needs to make this happen stat.
NC Braves Fan
June 30th, 2010
3:33 pm
Not worth the risk, IMHO. We already have a guy at short that is immensely talented but enigmatic. Why risk having two enigmas when you can give up a little more and get a better fit?
NORRIS
June 30th, 2010
3:35 pm
Why would we want Upton when he is hitting horrible. we have average outfielders now. We need a big bat that is going to help push this team to the playoffs. (willingham would be nice or Hart)
James
June 30th, 2010
3:36 pm
I would do it. Maybe Pendleton can settle him at the plate and if it is a bust or he is a distraction, like Kenny Lofton was, he will be out. We need someone who can bat leadoff with speed and he has the potential.
Vomax
June 30th, 2010
3:40 pm
Speed always slumps when speed can’t get on base.
Ted M
June 30th, 2010
3:53 pm
Forrest Griffin looks just like Jim Mora, Jr. to me.
Stanco
June 30th, 2010
3:55 pm
I agree with Jeff@2:30. no more F.ing rent-a-players and giving up major league talent ( No 1 in baseball thought of Wainwright, Elvis and Feliz as just potential MLB players). I would rather have an off year or 2, and then come back with a strong team with a legitimate run at a pennant….than a team hoping…wishing….for the playoffs (see 2007 and Tex trade).
Matt Diaz is nothing more than a PH/4th OF!!!!!!!
MitchFarted
June 30th, 2010
3:55 pm
Mark Bradley- I like your thinking today. Keep up the good work. Me personally, I haven’t given up on Jordan S. as the long-term option in center, but I agree that we need a rental for this year’s playoff run. Even if Diaz goes on a crazy hot streak again, I still don’t like Melky playing everyday and would rather see Upton in center on a regular basis. As for Mclouth- Let him boost ticket sales in Gwinnett.
MitchFarted
June 30th, 2010
3:57 pm
Can we also trade Jesse Chavez for either cash or a player to be named later…or a couple of maple bats?
Bernie
June 30th, 2010
3:58 pm
Talk to Boston on Ellsbury?? Sox have a loaded outfield propects?