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Could The Possibility Of A Return Of Justin Upton To The Atlanta Braves Be Reasonable?

By Jeff Schafer

Aug 18, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Justin Upton (10) doubles during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Justin Upton (10) doubles during the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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Could The Possibility Of A Justin Upton Return To The Atlanta Braves Be Reasonable?

As I type that, I kind of chuckled a little to myself.  But could this dream be somewhat, somehow, not ludicrous??

Alan wrote this morning about the chances the Braves have in bringing in outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. If you haven’t read that, go now and come back.  Those rumors are actually flying higher than an Upton back to the Braves thought.

Upton spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with the Braves before being traded in the 2015 offseason to the San Diego Padres.

Cespedes and Upton are fairly similar in the fact that both are looking for long-term, high paying contracts.  As well as both are still teamless as we sit on January 14, 2016.  Is this highly unheard of for top free agents to still be without a team?  Not really, we see it happen, but not too often.

A quote from Larry Reynolds, the representative of Upton…

"“We are not considering shorter-term deals at this time. The goal has been and will continue to be a long term contract for Justin Upton.”"

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes said this offseason that the 28-year-old is probably looking for a seven-year deal worth $147MM.  Wow and ouch at the same time. For the folks that hate math, that’s averaging $21MM a year.

Can the Braves afford to even entertain this thought?

If everything stays the same right now, the Braves have around $13-15 million to spend in 2016.  That would not come close to what Upton is looking for.  But what Atlanta could present to Upton is backloading the contract.  Alan suggested this with a Cespedes signing.

Let’s think about signing Justin Upton or Cespedes for a second…we can dream, right?

Look at this 2016 lineup!  The lineup turns from unexciting to a possible playoff contending lineup.

  1. Ender Inciarte
  2. Erick Aybar
  3. Freddie Freeman
  4. Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes
  5. Nick Markakis
  6. Hector Olivera
  7. A.J. Pierzynski or Tyler Flowers
  8. Jace Peterson

A signing of Upton or Cespedes gives the Braves that right-handed power bat they’ve been looking for PLUS it gives Freeman some protection…pitchers would have to pitch to Freddie!

This would also eliminate the Hector Olivera to the outfield project.

Are we dreaming too big here?  Do the Braves have a shot at signing one of these guys?  As the days tick by without another team signing either one, the Braves chances increase.  Atlanta was going to go “all in” for the 2017, why not start now and lock in your left fielder?

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