The Atlanta Braves have a number of players they wish to get off their hands and two of them are receiving a lot of interest. Outfielder Justin Upton and catcher/outfielder Evan Gattis are among the two with the most value.
Braves president of baseball operations John Hart already shipped outfielder Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals and is continuing to shop Gattis and the Upton brothers (Justin and B.J.). The problem is, the asking price for Gattis and (Justin) Upton seem to be too high for other teams to budge this far. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal provides insight through the team's discussions with the Houston Astros.
According to major league sources, the Astros have been interested in Gattis since prior to this year's trade deadline. The Braves were open to trade talks and in fact wanted outfielder Dexter Fowler in a package deal. They also requested a pitching prospect and asked about catcher Carlos Corporan, but here's the kicker: if the Astros wanted Gattis, they would have to take B.J. Upton and the $46.35 million remaining on his contract. Why? Because Gattis is under club control until 2019 and is still one season away from arbitration.
In his first two major league seasons, Gattis smacked 43 home runs and 117 RBIs in 2013 and 2014, so he already commands a lot of value since he's a cheap run producer. But Atlanta wants to shed salary, so giving up Gattis wouldn't be a good move in that respect unless they were getting a lot of young prospects/talent in return. Shedding salary would mean relieving themselves of B.J. Upton ($46.35 million over the next three years) and Justin Upton ($14.5 million for 2015). Atlanta is also asking a lot for Justin Upton because of the league's high demand for power-hitting outfielders coupled with Upton's young age.
It's not known exactly what the Braves are looking for in return for Upton, but it's probably enough to make teams think twice. The Seattle Mariners were in discussions with the Braves to acquire the 27-year-old, but they eventually opted to sign 34-year-old Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $58 million contract. That move may indicate the Braves were asking for an excessive return, but there are still many teams interested in Upton who might be willing to take a gamble on re-signing him after the 2015 season ends.
While Justin Upton likely remains his own entity in trade talks, it looks like the Braves may continue to market Gattis in a package deal with B.J. Upton because that's their only chance of lowering the payroll. Additionally, if they can't get what they want in return for Justin Upton, Hart mentioned signing the outfielder to an extension is "not out of the realm of possibility, writes Jim Duquette of MLB.com.
Might the San Diego Padres be a destination for any combination of these three players, most notably the Gattis/B.J. package? The team has only $41 million committed to next year's payroll and are aggressively marketing catcher Yasmani Grandal in hopes of trading him. If they can get another need in return for Grandal, acquiring Gattis would provide a big boost for their offense (which averaged only 3.3 runs per game last season) and they'd easily be able to take on the remaining money on Upton's contract. San Diego already missed out on Yasmany Tomas and Pablo Sandoval, so their best bet might be acquiring someone in a trade if they cannot attract free agents.
More developments are bound to surface from the MLB Winter Meetings.
