Braves donate Justin Upton to Padres for prospects

[mcollier]

Ugh gonna be confusing with Fried and Fredi on the same team.

I don't know...some of Fredi's moves make me wonder if he isn't fried.

[emk418]

If the braves have a top 5 pick it's protected so they could be more aggressive with FAs.

FYI from the KLaw write up:
This is a far, far better return than waiting for a compensatory draft pick in 2016 for Upton, when they wouldn't have gotten a player as good as a healthy Fried.

We have a winner! Chances are Fried will be a full go at the start of 2016. There is no way in hell we would get a player like Fried with the comp pick and even if we hit it big with the pick how long until they would make an impact? Fried is huge pickup for a rebuilding team and no way is available for a rental if healthy. Dustin Peterson has to prove himself but has talent. But I really like the secondary pieces in Jace and Mallex.

[emk418]

Maybe I'm in the minority but with Hart in a complete rebuild I think we have to trade Gattis now.

[mcollier]

Maybe I'm in the minority but with Hart in a complete rebuild I think we have to trade Gattis now.

Or wait until the trade deadline, when the Angels and Mariners are slugging it out for the AL West.

[COGPK]

Gotta make you wonder what our plan is for the infield. My guess is they would want to give Jace a long look this year. Maybe start him at 2B and platoon CJ/Callaspo at 3B? Just curious what the long term plan is with Jace/simmons/peraza.

I can see Peraza moving to CF.

[Carp]

With Gattis, you have more control, so you don't have to move him now. If some team blows you away with a package, then sure. But I don't see it. I think he stays for now.

[nsacpi]

Good question.

Speaking of payroll, where will the Braves' payroll end up? Hart and Co. specifically said that the payroll wouldn't drop below the $112 million (or so) mark from 2014. I guess we are at about $88 million now?

[emk418]

With Gattis, you have more control, so you don't have to move him now. If some team blows you away with a package, then sure. But I don't see it. I think he stays for now.

Agreed. I love Gattis but I'm just nervous about him breaking down in the OF. Think now is his highest value but we'll see.

[nsacpi]

You're commiting a fallacy of composition. Also 10m might be ashtray money for some teams, but we aint one of them.

I gotta break from the the groupthink here. I don't mind the Markakis signing. $10m is ashtray money these days, and somebody's gotta play in the outfield. Markakis is a decent bet to be a solid enough dude out there, and I'd like to not be God-awful across the board as we rebuild.

If $10m is the difference between us being contenders in 2017, then it wasn't gonna happen anyway.

[bravebonebook]

+1 for the thread title.

-1 for the thread title rewrite, actually. If baseball life is fair then this 'donation' will bite the Padres in the end when these prospects succeed.

Oh, and maybe lesser Upton will just quit now that his baby brother is gone.

[CyYoung31]

Ugh gonna be confusing with Fried and Fredi on the same team.

Don't worry. Fredi won't be with the team anymore by the time Fried makes it to the majors.

[Deester11]

Well, Chris Johnson may have a gained a few fans on the board. He tweeted, "Well, this sucks." Lol

[The Chosen One]

Well, Chris Johnson may have a gained a few fans on the board. He tweeted, "Well, this sucks." Lol

I think it's because he knows he's next.

[Deester11]

I think it's because he knows he's next.

We can only hope so.

[Millwood1Hitter]

LOL, at thread title.

"Look, anytime you have the capability to give away a franchise type young talented player, to an organization like the Padres, look you have to do it. Look its in the best interest of the game. Look, anytime a team like the Padres are competing and trying to put a capable winning team on the field, look you have to partake in it, and make it happen, because look it's good for the game of baseball."

[cajunrevenge]

The only thing I like about the Justin trade is that we got 4 players. You never know with prospects, some unheralded prospects can develop into productive players like Prado did. I am not particularly high on Fried.

[Horsehide Harry]

Hart puts his toe in the water while not wanting to take off his fur coat.

Either rebuild or don't. If you are going to rebuild then market for the best package available. It never works out well for the Braves when they say they have to have a ML ready player in return at (x) location - in this case starting pitching.

Now, the music has stopped and the Braves had to take the best deal they could get which is very likely far from the best deal they could have had.

My question is - What is really the difference between losing 100 games and losing 95 games?

[The Chosen One]

I'm not blown away by this trade but considering Upton is a free agent it's not really a quality haul but a quantity.

Plus, some of these guys can be turned around and moved elsewhere.

[Braves1976]

I have a hard time believing Hart didn't before hand have better offers than this. It seems like they just took the best offer that was left after most teams filled their needs elsewhere. Plus we didn't even at least dump CJ's contract in the trade.

[The Chosen One]

Firmly believe Gattis will be traded now.