[According to multiple reports, the Braves are sending Justin Upton to the Padres, who are shocking us at every turn with their offseason. You can see the updates below as this morning mystery played out.]
Ready for a Friday morning mystery?
We’ll see how long the mystery holds up, but the Braves are working on a Justin Upton trade, according to Jeff Passan:
Sources: Braves finishing up a Justin Upton trade.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 19, 2014
Upton’s is probably the biggest outfield bat on the trade market, so this is a big deal, wherever he goes. I highly doubt it’ll be the Cubs, even as much as I’d hoped the Cubs would pursue him.
So get your guesses in now before a deal gets done. A number of teams could use Upton, but the Rangers make a ton of sense given their outfield needs and deep prospect pool. Maybe the A’s after last night’s trading? There was some chatter going around that the A’s would use the pitching they’d accumulated to go after a bat, but would they want a one-year guy?
Oh, and don’t rule out the Mariners, who’ve pursued Upton for years, and could still use a bat.
UPDATE: I promise I finished my above thoughts before Mark Bowman tweeted this:
The Braves have had recent talks with the A's, Rangers and Mariners about J-Up. The A's now have an attractive stock of pitchers.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 19, 2014
I’m not going to take too much credit, though, as those three teams probably would have been most folks’ guess if they could name three. There have been rumors on those teams for a while, and the fit is clear (at least with the Rangers and Mariners).
UPDATE 2:Â Evan Grant rules out the Rangers:
Rangers not in mix on Upton. They revisited but situation remains same: Price too high for one year of control with other club ?marks.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) December 19, 2014
I missed this last night from Kiley McDaniel, and thanks to Adam on Twitter for the heads up:
AL Source: Braves appear to be down the road on a deal sending Justin Upton to an AL West club for a package headlined by young pitching.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) December 19, 2014
So, again, the Mariners and A’s are both a fit there.
UPDATE 3: Like any good mystery, there’s a big twist!
Early indication is that J-Up is not going to the A's, Mariners or Rangers. Sounds like the Padres are still a possibility
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 19, 2014
Are the Angels or Astros going to surprise on this one? Or is it not even an AL West team at all?
UPDATE 4: More heat on the Padres, because ALL THE OUTFIELDERS:
On Justin Upton: Not #Rangers. Not #Athletics. Cannot rule out #Padres. @jeffpassan said close.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 19, 2014
UPDATE 5: Not the Astros:
The Astros are not the mystery team involved in a Justin Upton deal.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 19, 2014
Is it really going to be the Padres? That would be all kinds of nuts.
UPDATE 6: It really might be the Padres. And that’s all kinds of nuts:
It does seem like the #Padres are the most likely club to get J-Up. If so, the #Braves have interest in Hedges, Wisler, Fried and Renfroe.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 19, 2014
Not only will the Padres then have to trade at least a couple outfielders from a position of no leverage (not a huge deal), they’ll have to figure out an outfield that works defensively with Myers/Kemp/Upton. Unless they’re planning to move Kemp to first base or something crazy.
UPDATE 7: In case you needed confirmation that it’s not the Cubs on Upton, Buster Olney’s on the spot:
The Cubs are not the mystery Justin Upton team. If it's the Padres: SD determined weeks ago it's OK to play Kemp in CF, if necessary.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 19, 2014
I do wonder, though, if the Cubs will be in a position to go after a Padres outfielder if they do get Upton. I still really like Seth Smith, but he might wind up going to a team like the Mariners (who could platoon him with recently-acquired Justin Ruggiano).
UPDATE 8: And sure enough, it’s the Padres, according to multiple reports, starting with Ken Rosenthal. This is pretty incredible, and further indicates just how aggressively the Padres are going for it in 2015. Now we’ll see what the fallout is for them in the outfield.