Braves Trade For Justin Upton

BIGGIEsmalls 23 · Post #1 » by **BIGGIEsmalls 23** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:21 pm

The Atlanta Braves have agreed to a trade to acquire outfielder Justin Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Randall Delgado, infielder Martin Prado and minor leaguers Nick Ahmed, Brandon Drury and Zeke Spruill, sources tell ESPN.

The deal is pending physicals by players involved.

The deal would unite Upton with his older brother, B.J. Upton, who signed as a free agent with Atlanta this winter.

The Diamondbacks once viewed Upton as a player they would build around for years to come. At age 21, he hit 26 homers, scored 84 runs and drove in 86 runs. In March 2010, Arizona signed Upton to a six-year, $51.5 million deal. The D-backs made the playoffs in 2011, and Upton finished fourth in NL MVP voting.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/88761 ... ks-sources

Jetset · Post #2 » by **Jetset** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:45 pm

well at least we have a clear cut candidate for team with the most strikeouts, other teams will have to step their game up if they hope to match. they should trade for adam dunn to make the transformation complete. not really sure this trade was necessary for atlanta, i would've tried out gattis first. they're going to miss prado.

Post #3 » by **TyCobb** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:05 pm

I'm excited to see the Upton brothers play together and curious to see how it will affect their performance. Not sure what other offers were on the table, but you have to think the D-Backs could have gotten better quality in return.

Quake Griffin · Post #4 » by **Quake Griffin** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:55 pm

but who was 3rd base?

i really don't get Arizona's thinking here.
was the relationship sour? or was his deal such a good deal that they thought they could get a lot for him?

Post #5 » by **Da Schwab** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:58 pm

If Justin Upton can bounce back from a pretty mediocre season, I would call the Braves the winner overall.

Nothing really jumps out to me as a good snag for the D'Backs.

Jetset · Post #6 » by **Jetset** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:54 pm

Quake Griffin wrote:but who was 3rd base?

i really don't get Arizona's thinking here.
was the relationship sour? or was his deal such a good deal that they thought they could get a lot for him?

he apparently became problematic off the field.

Quake Griffin · Post #7 » by **Quake Griffin** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 6:06 pm

didn't BJ have problems in Tampa?
or were they overblown?
atlanta taking on 2 head cases?
justin will be in left field?
no 3rd baseman?
chipper coming out of retirement for ONE last run?

Post #8 » by **ATL Boy** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:38 pm

Quake Griffin wrote:didn't BJ have problems in Tampa?
or were they overblown?
atlanta taking on 2 head cases?
justin will be in left field?
no 3rd baseman?
chipper coming out of retirement for ONE last run?

I think that Justin will be Left, BJ Center, and Heyward right. As for 3rd base we'll probably have a platoon of Juan Francisco and Chris Johnson, both reliable guys. But man would I love to see Chipper come out of retirement, I doubt it'll happen as he still wants to spend time with family and his reputation would be a little shot around the league like Brett Favre's was after he came out of retirement

Jetset · Post #9 » by **Jetset** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:40 pm

Quake Griffin wrote:didn't BJ have problems in Tampa?
or were they overblown?
atlanta taking on 2 head cases?
justin will be in left field?
no 3rd baseman?
chipper coming out of retirement for ONE last run?

yep.
yep. though they were minor, i still think tampa would've re-signed him if they had the money to.
yep.
more than likely.
they've got to hope a johnson/francisco platoon can produce.
possible he can still produce, but i think he's done.

Post #10 » by **craig01** » Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:02 pm

Upton had some problems, the biggest of which were several obvious issues with hustle.

He was yanked by Maddon before, and just about had his lights punched out in the dugout.

Uptown still has a huge upside, and performed really well down the stretch last year. He is subject to brain farts on the field and on the base paths, which made him very frustrating for the fan base to watch.

Pairing both Uptons in the OF will create a lot of K's in the Braves lineup.

High 5 · Post #11 » by **High 5** » Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:44 pm

I'm sure the Upton brothers playing together and for a franchise like Atlanta will eliminate any attitude/hustle issues. At worst the Braves are going to have absurdly good outfield defense, but the potential on the team as a whole is very exciting. Going to miss Prado, though. He's been my favorite player over the last 4 years.

Quake Griffin · Post #12 » by **Quake Griffin** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:19 pm

d-backs could have had...in no order

skaggs
bradley
bauer
delgado

LULZ.
they'd be the SF Giants of 2015.

smh.
still gonna be animal w/o bauer....but sheesh.

barves · Post #13 » by **barves** » Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:44 pm

Keith Law really said it best. The Braves got him at 50 cents to the dollar. A 25 yr old player who's just entering his prime and is very affordable the next 3 years and has superstar potential, that' he's already shown 2 years ago. Justin never really was comfortable in Arizona, Towers constantly held him in trade discussions.

Losing Prado sucks, but he was a goner next year and to keep Teheran/Graham is a big plus.

Post #14 » by **ATL Boy** » Mon Apr 8, 2013 4:29 pm

5 homeruns in 6 games for Upton including a walk-off Saturday night against Chicago. Justin is producing

Post #15 » by **HMFFL** » Mon Apr 8, 2013 5:03 pm

ATL Boy wrote:5 homeruns in 6 games for Upton including a walk-off Saturday night against Chicago. Justin is producing

It's not like I expect him to continue to produce the numbers that he has thus far, but I hope he stays consistent, and involves himself in the MVP discussions.

Post #16 » by **ATL Boy** » Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:37 am

The part of the trade that noone seemed to be talking about when it happened was the addition of Chris Johnson, he's 3rd in the MLB with a .409 average coming into the night (he just went 3 for 4 so the average should increase), he himself has done better than Prado this season and Upton is now at 9 HRs which is the most in the MLB.

mala · Post #17 » by **mala** » Wed Apr 24, 2013 4:57 am

That ATL outfield is ridiculously good.

Upton, Upton, and Heyward.

And when you add in the fact that these are 3 young BLACK players in a predominantly BLACK city like Atlanta? If they get it together, they could be one of the best things to happen to baseball in a long while.

Quake Griffin · Post #18 » by **Quake Griffin** » Wed Apr 24, 2013 5:24 am

mala wrote:That ATL outfield is ridiculously good.

Upton, Upton, and Heyward.

And when you add in the fact that these are 3 young BLACK players in a predominantly BLACK city like Atlanta? If they get it together, they could be one of the best things to happen to baseball in a long while.

now if only we could get Kemp and McCutcheon in that Nationals outfield.