ARI Agrees to Trade Justin Upton to SEA; Upton Says No, Uses NTC

[awy]

hope this goes the way of the cano-melky brotherhood

[Hitman23]

That is one hell of an outfield.

[flymick24]

Talk about a total boom or bust OF

[JohnnyDamonfan]

I have to wonder why they didn't go with the Rangers where they could have gotten Olt + for Upton. But, that is gonna be one dangerous outfield now.

[Hitman23]

Talk about a total boom or bust OF

if I were a braves fan I'd be making bp just to see Upton and Heyward launch bombs.

[Big_E]

Who plays LF?

If I'm not mistaken, J Upton and Heyward are both RF.

[The FUTURE]

As much as I hate to see Martin Prado traded (one of my favorite braves), I can honestly say it is a GREAT day to be a Braves fan. Anyday you can acquire a guy like Justin Upton without giving up your top prospect and mostly let go of spare parts, you can't help but smile. Just think, this lineup will have Dan Uggla or Brian McCann hitting 7th when fully healthy.

[The FUTURE]

Who plays LF?

If I'm not mistaken, J Upton and Heyward are both RF.

Just my guess, but I think they move Justin to left. Both are great athletes and should transition well to LF

[Black Sabbathia]

I have to wonder why they didn't go with the Rangers where they could have gotten Olt + for Upton.

Because Olt is pretty overrated. He strikes out a ton and has poor contact rates, which doesn't usually translate well in the majors. And he's already 24 (25 this season), so it's not like he's a young prospect.

There's a reason Texas was shopping him around in every possible deal and wouldn't budge on their younger, better prospects, and it's why they didn't get any trades done. He might have been a nice piece of a package, but not as the centerpiece.

I'd take Prado, Delgado + lower prospects over what Texas was rumored to be offering

[snapple]

the Rangers would need to start with Profar, right?

[Jax Teller]

[flymick24]

i came

[teknetic]

That's fu..... great.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooool. tremendous

[MoVaughnEatsAlot]

That might be the greatest thing I've ever seen.

[Axon]

Justin is the type of player who isn't your #1 bat, but would be a solid #2 or killer #3 guy.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

Justin is the type of player who isn't your #1 bat, but would be a solid #2 or killer #3 guy.

the braves don't seem to have that super elite #1 bat you're referring to, but they have plenty of #2s and #3s

The Uptons, Heyward, Freeman, bounceback candidates in McCann, Uggla
and some solid spare parts (simmons, johnson/francisco)

[Axon]

the braves don't seem to have that super elite #1 bat you're referring to, but they have plenty of #2s and #3s

The Uptons, Heyward, Freeman, bounceback candidates in McCann, Uggla
and some solid spare parts (simmons, johnson/francisco)

Not many teams do have the #1 guy, but the Braves roster can contend. Of course, nothing is better than lockdown pitching in the postseason...

[JohnnyDamonfan]

Because Olt is pretty overrated. He strikes out a ton and has poor contact rates, which doesn't usually translate well in the majors. And he's already 24 (25 this season), so it's not like he's a young prospect.

There's a reason Texas was shopping him around in every possible deal and wouldn't budge on their younger, better prospects, and it's why they didn't get any trades done. He might have been a nice piece of a package, but not as the centerpiece.

I'd take Prado, Delgado + lower prospects over what Texas was rumored to be offering

I get what you mean, but 25 is still kind of young for a prospect to me at least. But, I guess you're right. It looked like they were trying to get some MLB ready talent as well with the addition of Prado. Hypothetically, who do you think the Rangers would have to give up, if they wanted to land Upton?

And one other thing why is Olt their second best prospect (according to Mlb.com) then? Are those top 20 Prospects list not the most reliable things? Because from what I read, he's their second best prospect. Number 1 on that list was of course was Jurickson Profar. (Maybe they should have tried to add him to the package, I'm sure that might have helped)

[Hitman23]

that is fantastic

[The FUTURE]

I get what you mean, but 25 is still kind of young for a prospect to me at least. But, I guess you're right. It looked like they were trying to get some MLB ready talent as well with the addition of Prado. Hypothetically, who do you think the Rangers would have to give up, if they wanted to land Upton?

And one other thing why is Olt their second best prospect (according to Mlb.com) then? Are those top 20 Prospects list not the most reliable things? Because from what I read, he's their second best prospect. Number 1 on that list was of course was Jurickson Profar. (Maybe they should have tried to add him to the package, I'm sure that might have helped)

Both Atlanta and Texas turned done deals centered around their young SS's Andrelton Simmons (ATL) and Profar or Andrus (TEX) earlier in the offseason. Neither team was willing to move their young SS's, even for a player such as Upton. After those deals didn't work out, ARZ traded Trevor Bauer in a deal that netted them Didi Gregorius among others. Once they decided they still wanted to move Upton they then looked to find somebody to play 3B for them.


I read a quote from their GM Kevin Towers (somewhere on this forum, to lazy to find it again) that they look for intangibles in a player and were trading for players (and getting rid of guys) that fit/didn't fit Kurt Gibson and Co. managing styles.


All that being said, Olt might appear to be a more ideal (power hitting corner 3B) and valuable 3B to the common fan, however, as an ATL fan I can tell you Martin Prado grades out at A+++ when it comes to intangibles and is everything you'd ever want in a baseball player (based on work ethic, clubhouse guy, passion for the game.) So I think for Arizona a package based around Prado vs. a package based around Olt was a no-brainer for them, they wanted Prado.