The San Diego Padres continued an aggressive off-season this time acquiring Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton in a trade that will send the 27 year old slugger back to the National League West Division. The Padres earlier traded for Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Wil Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays, acquired Derek Norris re-signed Josh Johnson and signed Brandon Morrow. The trade was first reported by Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
Left-hander Max Fried and second baseman Jace Peterson are headed to the Braves in the trade, reports ESPN’s Jim Bowden as are third baseman Dustin Peterson and outfielder Mallex Smith.
In 2014 Upton hit .270/.342/.491 over 566 at-bats. He slashed 267/.348/.478 through his first two seasons with the Braves. The 27-year-old entering the final year of his contract and is expected to make $14.5 million in 2015 before becoming a free agent.
