Former Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren Wants A “Mulligan” On B.J. Upton Deal
By Jeff Schafer
In the 2013 off-seaon, the Atlanta Braves and former Braves General Manager Frank Wren signed B.J. Upton to a five year, $75.25 million deal through the 2017 season.
At the time, B.J. was a 28-year-old center fielder with speed, power and experience. Wren believed this signing was a tremendous get for Atlanta and a player that could take this franchise to the promise land. After the signing, Atlanta was able to acquire B.J.’s brother Justin Upton in a trade with Arizona. Having the Upton brothers in the Braves lineup was something many fans were very excited about.
Prior to joining the Braves, B.J. played for the Tampa Bay Rays. Within his eight year stint with the Rays he had a slash line of .255/.336/.422 with 118 homers, 447 RBIs, 539 runs scored, 232 stolen bases, 430 walks and 1020 strikeouts.
His strikeouts have always been an issue with B.J. but take a look at these other numbers. In his two seasons with Atlanta he had a slash line of .198/.279/.314 with 21 homers, 61 RBIs, 97 runs scored, 32 stolen bases, 101 walks and 324 strikeouts.
Obviously if you have been anywhere near the sporting world, you know the B.J. Upton situation in Atlanta was a dreadful downward spiral of frustrations. Now after being fired by Atlanta, Frank Wren tells MLB Radio that he wished he had a “mulligan” when it came to B.J.
Wren tells us he'd like to have a mulligan on the BJ Upton deal "it just didn't work in Atlanta. It hasn't worked in Atlanta"
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) November 2, 2014
These words come to no surprise as now that he’s out of the job, he can actually speak his mind.
Atlanta will try to get back to “The Braves Way” this offseason and will probably look to move B.J. elsewhere. Their best chance will be to a team that also has a horrible contract with a player who just isn’t panning out for them and just hope for the best.