The San Diego Padres are on the verge of acquiring another outfielder after they just traded for Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Wil Myers of the Tampa Bay Rays. The deal is not yet finalized and right now it involves some of San Diego's prospects.
According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, Atlanta Braves outfielder Justin Upton is heading to San Diego. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports first noted the Braves were "finishing up" a trade for the outfielder, but Rosenthal confirmed it was with the Padres after speculation was shot down about the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers being involved. The San Diego Union-Tribune has some information regarding who the Padres are sending to Atlanta.
The newspaper notes prospect pitcher Max Fried is involved in the trade and top prospects Hunter Renfroe and Matt Wisler are not. It was originally said one of the Padres' top three prospects - catcher Austin Hedges, Renfroe (OF) and Wisler (SP) - were included in the deal, but right now it looks as if none of them will be. The Braves already have Evan Gattis and Christian Bethancourt as options behind the plate, so there's little reason for them to acquire Hedges.
Fried is a 20-year-old left-hander who owns a 6-9 record with a 3.61 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 38 games (37 starts) in the minor leagues (Rookie League and Class-A). He's currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in late August. He was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 draft and was selected out of high school, after which he excelled as a 19-year-old at Class-A Fort Wayne with a 3.49 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in 23 starts (118 2/3 innings).
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports notes the Padres will also send prospect outfielder Mallex Smith to the Braves. The 21-year-old slashed .310/.403/.432 in 120 games between Class-A Fort Wayne and Advanced Class-A Lake Elsinore with 99 runs scored, 5 home runs, 31 RBIs and 88 stolen bases. ESPN's Jim Bowden added prospect second baseman Jace Peterson will also be heading to Atlanta. The 24-year-old Peterson reached the majors for a short while in 2014 after batting .307/.402/.447 with 54 runs scored, 3 home runs, 46 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 86 games between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso. He's viewed as a utility-type player, according to Rosenthal.
When the deal becomes official, the 27-year-old Upton and his $14.5 million salary for 2015 will be sent to San Diego. Upton batted .270/.342/.491/.833 with 29 home runs and 102 RBIs with the Braves in 2014. He'll join Matt Kemp and Wil Myers in the Padres' outfield.
UPDATE: Justin Upton and minor league reliever Aaron Northcraft were sent to San Diego in exchange for minor leaguers Max Fried, Mallex Smith, Jace Peterson and Dustin Peterson.
