While Sunday afternoon’s trade of all-star closer Craig Kimbrel and disappointing outfielder Melvin Upton, Jr. to the San Diego Padres sent shockwaves through the baseball world, especially Braves fans, it is best for the future. The Braves likely weren’t going to contend with the Nationals, Marlins or even the Mets this year, so what is the point of having the best closer in the league if you’re going to lose more games then you win?
Getting rid of Upton is something the Braves tried to do before but were unsuccessful because of his massive contract and poor performance since he came to Atlanta in 2013. Basically, the only way someone would take him and his contract is if they paired him with a productive player. Sure, the Padres got Kimbrel, who was also an expensive player for the Braves, to add to an already pretty good bullpen, but they are now saddled with one of the worst contracts in the MLB.
With the offseason trades of outfielders Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, Atlanta added young, good talent to strengthen a farm system that was ranked near the bottom of the MLB. They currently have five players, two were added in offseason trades, that are ranked by MLB.com in the top 100 prospects in the MLB. The players they got in return for those trades also won’t cost near as much as the players they sent out and will be ready to contribute in a couple of years when the Braves move into their new stadium in Cobb County.
The Braves now have plenty of cap space to spend on free agents in the future and have young stars like Freddie Freeman, Julio Teheran and Andrelton Simmons, which they can build around. It may be a long season for the Braves and their fans, but they have made moves that will help them contend for many years to come.
