San Diego Padres Shopping Melvin Upton
By Ron Juckett
Coming off a solid first half, the San Diego Padres hope to cash in on Melvin Upton as the team rebuilds.
The San Diego Padres are shopping outfielder Melvin Upton and may have a buyer with the Baltimore Orioles.
In the middle of a bad season, fourth-place in the National League West at 42-55, the Padres already moved closer Fernando Rodney to the Miami Marlins for Chris Paddack. They grabbed the highly touted Anderson Espinoza from the Boston Red Sox for All-Star Drew Pomeranz. San Diego also found a willing taker of James Shields in the Chicago White Sox for international prospect Fernando Tatis and pitcher Erik Johnson.
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With Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe almost ready to play in the Major Leagues, moving Upton out of the way makes sense. Moving the last 18 months of his contract so the kids can play is better for the Padres in the long run. This season is a lost cause.
For Upton, this is a year of improvement. Following two horrible seasons with the Atlanta Braves in 2013 and 2014, he missed a large chunk of last year with an injury. This year sees him playing every day and producing decent numbers. Powering 16 homers while swiping 20 bases, his slash line of .259/.307/.444 gives him an Adjusted OPS+ of 103. A far cry from the 54 and 75 posted in his Braves tenure and similar to his productivity with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Signed through next season, Upton is due around $5 million this year and $16.45 next. If he goes to Baltimore, San Diego would take pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and his contract.
The hang up overnight Saturday morning was on what prospect the Orioles will package with Jimenez.
If the deal goes through, Upton would immediately jump into a playoff position. Familiar with the American League East after eight seasons with Tampa, the Orioles hope he can continue to hit for power and steal bases as they battle the resurgent Toronto Blue Jays and Red Sox for the division title.
Baltimore is more than willing to dump Jimenez on San Diego. With an ERA of 7.38 and a 5-9 record in 17 starts, they can ill afford to keep plugging him in the rotation every fifth day. Now that the primary participants are public knowledge, there is incentive for Baltimore to make a deal. No one enjoys seeing their name dangled in the press as trade bait. The Orioles surely now have to move Jimenez.
The good news for San Diego is Upton will draw interest if the Orioles deal does not go through. Boston needs a left fielder and would love to dump Clay Buchholz. The Cleveland Indians could use outfield depth as they are in the driver’s seat in the AL Central. San Diego can afford to be patient, working teams against each other to get the best deal.
The Padres decided Wil Myers will be the cornerstone of the franchise. At 25, he hits for power and will steal a base when needed. General Manager A.J. Preller has stocked the farm system with the likes of Margot after last year’s attempt to be competitive fell short. If they can shave a couple million off in payroll, they can go into the offseason with some flexibility to grab role players who can help the club build for the future.