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
MyPatooti
June 30th, 2010
6:36 pm
Oh, and one more thing. Mark Bradley, lay off the green koolaid. That stuff will rot your brain!
Braves Fan Since "80
June 30th, 2010
6:51 pm
Dances and games are different….. over a 162 game schedule the best teams generally wins….in the playoffs the athletes win…..this team would be so weak defensively they wiuld wither in the bright lights…. everyody gets a half step slower so more balls fall with 2nd string outfielders……. Andrew, Otis, and sometimes Dion produced outs….they got to balls even the players on the field did not believe……. Very few easy double offs these days…… anybody remember andruw flipping the ball to belliard to double off a runner…….. The guy was not stealing just took for granted it was a base hit. Defense wins and makes good pitchers great great guys makes for great great stories and bad trades…. TEX did his part but the good guys, great team mates did not….
If you always do what you have always done you get what you always got….1 world series….. Ask the Lakers about getting a badboy?
Time
June 30th, 2010
7:13 pm
Sign and trade Joe Johnson for Corey Hart..lol
ryan
June 30th, 2010
7:14 pm
The hole Mark Teixeira trade was a disaster you see how well Salty is playing in Texas. If were going trade for a bat we need to do this right and not have rental player.
MitchC
June 30th, 2010
7:16 pm
Mark, if Upton is the best we can do, then FW should go for it.
We have played well, but, I’m telling you, that team is Philadelphia is a very big sleeping Giant. They are in a quiet slumber, but can and may wake up at any time. Yes, we know they have serious injury problems, but if those guys get healthy, watch out.
I hope FW makes a good deal before 7-31. If that means Upton, and he can help us, fine with me.
UcantCLA
June 30th, 2010
7:20 pm
We need Josh Hamilton, than u can plan the parade.
max leon
June 30th, 2010
7:56 pm
i say wait on schafer………….
Barney Strickland
June 30th, 2010
7:57 pm
One word: NO Two words: Hell No Upton is a cancer….No way. Now, Let’s talk World Cup….. How ’bout that German team !! Dang!
Boatdoc
June 30th, 2010
8:12 pm
Interesting, Mark, the comparisons to your proposed acquisition of Upton and the history with Texeira, because at the time of getting Tex the comparison was with the Crime Dog, and THAT one worked out just fine. You could argue that Texeira worked out just fine as well, as he hit .299 and had 37 HR and 134 RBI for the Bravos in 157 games over two seasons – plus providing a BIG bat behind Hoss while he was chasing .400, but the Hotlanta club wasn’t thisclose to being a contender during the Texeira experiment so it fades from memory.
Jeff
June 30th, 2010
8:19 pm
To wawel78 @ 5:41 pm:
The Braves that year were maddeningly inconsistent, had nagging injuries, couldn’t stop other teams in late innings and had inconsistent pitching. Tex helped none of that, other than providing an occasional home run and some glitz at the box office.
Atlanta was 4 out but might as well have been 10 out… that team was not going to catch New York or Philly.
Quoted directly from ESPN.com: “Atlanta began the day 4.5 games behind the New York Mets in the NL East and in the middle of the wild-card chase. The Braves also wound up with Kansas City reliever Octavio Dotel and San Diego reliever Royce Ring.
After three weeks of negotiations, the Braves sent rookie catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and four minor-leaguers to Texas for the powerful, switch-hitting Teixeira and left-handed reliever Ron Mahay.”
Do you want to know why that is a bad trade? BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE ANY OF THOSE GUYS ON OUR ROSTER ANYMORE!!! Teixeira helped us win 84 games that year and finish third…. Mahay, Ring and Dotel were as effective as a sack of potatoes.
So we sent off 5, 6, 7 minor leaguers for three guys who helped us finish 3rd. And that’s your idea of a good trade?
What we don’t like, wawel78, is that our organization would consider doing that type of thing EVER again. Unless it’s a sure fire slam dunk, where you’d get something like Jeter, ARod, and Rivera for Diaz and a Class-A infielder… well, it’s not worth doing.
The trade of 2007 was terrible for Atlanta no matter how you slice it. We finished 5 games out and in 3rd place WITH those guys, we could have done that WITHOUT them.
I’m all for my team, the Braves, making GOOD trades that make SENSE and HELP our ballclub IN THE LONG RUN. I am NOT for my team making panicky, short-sighted, short-term trades that are disasters unless you win the World Series.
BravesFan
June 30th, 2010
8:29 pm
The hole Mark Teixeira trade was a disaster you see how well Salty is playing in Texas. If were going trade for a bat we need to do this right and not have rental player.
Can Salty play first? otherwise there is no spot for him. also, he could barely throw the ball to the pitcher.
We need to trade somewhere to get over the hump and make a huge run hopefully ending in a parade down peachtree.
Braves/Upton A Good Fit? - True Sports Core Forums
June 30th, 2010
8:56 pm
[...] upgrade that essential position at some point. Why not now, I say? Why not upgrade with Upton? As a Braves' trade target, I'd hustle after Tampa's B.J. Upton | Mark Bradley I actually wouldn't mind this [...]
LuisG
June 30th, 2010
8:59 pm
B.J. Upton would be useless as a Brave. He doesn’t hit for high average (yeah, he had .300 and a .273 in back-to-back seasons), strikes out a lot and barely walks. I’d rather let slower-than-a-turtle Melky get his average up and I’d let McClouth get back on track than bringing B.J. Upton to this team (last I heard he had an exchange of words with Evan Longoria).
LuisG
June 30th, 2010
9:00 pm
Oh, almost forgot, his speed (Upton’s) won’t be used here, since Bobby Cox doesn’t run much.
crackerdog
June 30th, 2010
9:07 pm
I saw him when the Rays were playing our guys. Does not fit with the 2010 hustling Braves model!
I’m not sober and I think it’s a bad idea.
What’s your excuse?
pruss
June 30th, 2010
9:29 pm
If Corey Hart is available thats the best bet I dont care if it is only through 2011.
Joe Mama Angie Daddy
June 30th, 2010
9:29 pm
I would just wear my sunglasses at night
ryan
June 30th, 2010
9:40 pm
Braves Fan your right i just do not want the Braves to goof another trade. B.J. Upton not a good fit but i do like Josh Willingham or Corey Hart.
NCBravesFan
June 30th, 2010
9:54 pm
I’d take a pass on Upton. We already have one very talented but enigmatic player on the roster, and that’s plenty. Best to pay marginally more and get a better bet.
NCBravesFan
June 30th, 2010
9:57 pm
The Braves already have one high maintenance player – I think they should pay marginally more in a trade to go with a better clubhouse fit.
Tom
June 30th, 2010
9:58 pm
First of all, B.J. Upton isn’t even available on the market. He is still a rising star who is just entering his arbitration years, which means he is still affordable. Plus, since Carl Crawford will be leaving after this season, the Rays need to keep their young outfielders.
Second, do you realize how much it would cost to get Upton. It would be like the Teixeira trade all over again. It would take a multi-prospect package — including several of our young pitchers like Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, and Randall Delgado — to get this deal done.
Personally, considering it took the Braves farm system 3 years to recover from the Teixeira trade, I think we should not make any deals that morgage our future clubs. If we can get decent right-handed bat for a reasonable cost, then I say go for it. But please Frank Wren, don’t do anything now that we will regret in 2-3 years.
Chief
June 30th, 2010
10:00 pm
Mark – What would be your best case and worst case scenarios for what the braves would have to give up for Upton?
inner tube
June 30th, 2010
10:53 pm
speaking of regulations, did anyone see the Oprah Winfrey today? If not, get the transcripts. The show was about how to teach people and families to get out of debt. What raised my eyebrows was one lady around 29-30 that made 31000 a year and had a mortage payment of 1200. The lady has two kids and spends around an extra 1000 or more each month that she charges to her credit card to get by. This lady also is attending school and applies for financial aid. The only catch she keeps reapplying and the government keeps giving it to her, the lady owes the government over 81000 in student loans. The ladies exact quote “when I reach my credit limit on my credit card, I just reload up on finanical aid and pay the card off”. Are you telling me you can receive 81000 in student loans and the government doesnt ask you to pay on any of it in order to get more. It appeared by the statement they were showing on this tv show that the lady was either getting 10 – 20000 per loan. Now, why in the name of God is the GOP senate not approving unemployment extensions but thinks this example of robbing the system is perfectly fne. I know if I went on national tv and ran my mouth about doing something like that, the feds would come and handcuff me. I am so not kidding about this situation. What the F?
So the GOP who I supported all my life has decided I do not deserve an unemployment extension. Laid off for the first time in my life, almost 50 and unable to find work, and almost losing my home, this is what the GOP thinks of me…
Why the hate?
June 30th, 2010
11:09 pm
There seems to be a lot of hate towards Yunel on here……I don’t see anyone criticizing the 14 million dollar injury, when the Braves seem to do much better with Infante or Brooksie out at 3rd!
I bet we look at someone on the Royals, lot of knowns there.
Knockahoma
June 30th, 2010
11:18 pm
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
They’ll want young pitching most likely. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
You can never have enough youngg pitching talent!
Mitchell
June 30th, 2010
11:23 pm
How about we just trade managers?
Obviously, Maddon must have some memory of managing his team in a World Series is like. I don’t care how much of a slump the Rays are in at the moment or how many times they get tea-bagged by some random pitcher, I still say Maddon is one of the best managers in the game.
I would definitely make that trade.
And it makes no difference what Upton is batting these days, if he comes here it will only get worse. I think you can pretty much guarantee that these days.
Bravesfan79
June 30th, 2010
11:32 pm
Upton? Nah, id rather take Cory Hart. Upton seems more and more likely to live up to the sterotype of black players (athletic talent but dont hustle, dont play intelligent ball). At least hes not a true scumbag like Lastings Millidge tho, thats a guy i would never cheer for!
augustafan1234
June 30th, 2010
11:34 pm
Minor would not be “necessary” to trade for hart, upton, willingham, or bautista. We have other desirable pitchers in the minors we may be willing to part with, i.e. julio teheron, who may be better than minor. Kimbrel is what everyone keeps calling ——->”the next billy wagner”<——-. Please dont trade away this rarity; a left handed power arm born to come in the game in the ninth! Regardless of who you prefer to trade, we have minor, teheron, AND kimbrel. I think the reward you may get from upton (who HAS proven he can be a star) is worth more than the risk of passing him up (hoping minor or teheron or kimbrel, whomever we trade, will turn out to be a star because they havent proven that yet). except kimbrel impressed me alot.
augustafan1234
June 30th, 2010
11:36 pm
Bravesfan79———Damn right.
Techman
June 30th, 2010
11:46 pm
I almost feel guilty arguing with you guys. Salty? Are we talking about the one in that is 1 for 5 on the season in two games? Sure, he can play 1B for you.
Again, we’ll have to agree to disagree on the Tex trade. I’m sure you were complaining about it when the trade went down. Personally, I’m happy we had management willing to try and win a pennant when we had a reasonable shot to make the postseason.
Again, the Rangers have two players who are above average out of the trade. Another pitcher is a middle reliever with an ERA over 4.50. One guy is in AAA. I can’t even find information on the 5th guy.
We got a top 5 1B for a season and a middle reliever back to try and win the pennant. I’m fine with that.
hmmmmmm
July 1st, 2010
12:36 am
ok how about some Reyes,KK, Minor,Dunn, McLouth, Melky and Resop and more if need be in some combinations to get Kemp AND Hart…..would be huge if we could pull it off….
Tmac
July 1st, 2010
1:18 am
I didn’t read read through all the blogs,but a name I haven’t seen mentioned is the diamondbacks Chris Young. Above average center fielder, some good power numbers a solid upgrade over what we have now. Not sure of his contract status though.
Ramrod
July 1st, 2010
1:28 am
Mark, I agree with U on Upton. The kid just needs the right mgr. and new teammates to wake him up. He would not come into the Braves clubhouse with a attitude. He’s not that stupid and has great talent just waiting to explode. It would be the best thing to happen to him and Braves.But I don’t believe Wren will pull off a big trade etc. He is scared to pull the trigger after some of his $$$deals=Lowe.
Coach (2011 or Bust)
July 1st, 2010
2:12 am
The Rangers Nelson Cruz is a far better trade candidate than any listed so far. I’ll add the following:
A. He’s 29 and headed into his physical prime as an athlete.
B. Won’t be an unrestricted free agent until 2014.
C. Of course, he’s right handed and a slugger.
D. His defense and outfield arm is excellent. Not to mention that Cruz plays both LF and RF equally well.
E. Again, he’s making the league minimum, the Rangers are desperate for pitching with a tight budget, and our Bravos are looking for a right handed bat for the outfield.
Hooter Girl
July 1st, 2010
7:16 am
How about the centerfielder frin Kansas City? He seems to be everything the Braves want.
Hooter Girl
July 1st, 2010
7:17 am
…from Kansas City
Hooter Girl
July 1st, 2010
7:18 am
…from Kansas City, sorry its early.
UGASlobberknocker
July 1st, 2010
7:25 am
no no no..he is a selfish player and not a good clubhouse guy. Zimmerman wouldnt be bad for his bat, but he ius a poor fielder. I would like them to get Guillen from KC..Hr has numbers similar to Glaus and is probably available.
59bulldawg
July 1st, 2010
7:33 am
Personally I think Willingham would fit in great with the Braves. Was very impressed with him in the series with the Nats.
AL HRABOSKY
July 1st, 2010
8:00 am
Again, let the players that we have, play it out.
This is a team building for the future, don’t trade it away.
The Braves are a middle market team, with a middle market payroll budget, they need to keep all of their young talent that they have.
What needs to be traded is the high priced pitchers, that they have, but I doubt that is going to happen(nothing against those pitchers, it is a just a good buisness move).
GO BRAVES!!!!!
BravesFan
July 1st, 2010
8:05 am
Try to get DeJesus or Hart (now) or Guillen(at season’s end to replace chipper)
AL HRABOSKY
July 1st, 2010
8:11 am
MyPatootie@634pm…….you do know that Heyward has been playing with an injured thumb for over a month, or do you not watch the Braves telecasts.
And while I’m on the subject I wonder why he was playing, when the management was aware of the injury, and why they waited so long to have it checked by a doctor.
getwhatUpayfor
July 1st, 2010
8:12 am
Inner tube—The GOP does not control Congress. Where U been the last 2 years?
Joey
July 1st, 2010
8:19 am
Upton wasn’t too fast going after that liner the other night. He was about at my jogging speed, which is fast-walk-speed!
Chef Mentuer
July 1st, 2010
8:19 am
Milton Bradley
[THE HANGOVER] The One Where We Discuss | Rays Index
July 1st, 2010
8:32 am
[...] Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests the Braves target BJ Upton in a trade. [AJC] [...]
Michael
July 1st, 2010
9:05 am
I’m sold. Make it happen.
Ace
July 1st, 2010
9:14 am
Hey Mark,
So if the Braves front office doesn’t listen to you like the Hawks front office didn’t listen to you when you said they should hire Casey, will you go into a week long diva mode and write article after article on how they Braves should have listen to you. Just trying to brace myself.
Richard Dawson
July 1st, 2010
9:16 am
And this is why you are a sportswriter and not a GM. Upton is a lazy cancer. Keep that cancer in TB.
ryan
July 1st, 2010
9:17 am
Mark- What about short?? I have a feeling Escobar won’t be back next season.