Update from Perseus 10:15 AM
Well, it looks like the Upton Brothers will be united in Atlanta after all. According to MLBTR, the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed, in principle, to a deal that would send Justin Upton to the Braves.
Mark Bowman of MLB.com provided the terms of the trade:
The Braves get Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson while the D-Backs get third baseman Martin Prado, right-hander Randall Delgado, shortstop prospect Nick Ahmed and right-handed pitching prospect Zeke Spruill.
This trade basically takes the Braves out of the running for Michael Bourn.
The Upton brothers will patrol the outfield with Jason Heyward. Keep in mind that Martin Prado is a free agent after this season, while Johnson and Upton have 4 and 3 years left under team control, respectively.
Thoughts from Joe D.
The Braves are built to dominate in the NL East for years and years to come while still having a great minor league pipeline to feed the incredible team they have at the majors.
GM Frank Wren has not only drastically strengthened his team, but also added two core players and made the major league squad younger and better with two additions that have yet to hit their peaks.
Justin has three years and $38.5 million remaining on his contract, including a very team friendly $9.75 million salary in 2013.
Now boasting an outfield of Justin and BJ Upton plus another young stud in Jason Heyward, the Braves trio will rank up among the best outfields in the NL.
That they did this without giving up their top pitching or hitting prospect is absolutely remarkable.
In fact the highest ranked prospect in this deal was Zeke Spruill who checked in at No. 9 in Baseball America’s Top 10 for this season.
That’s amazing.
Wren has got the Braves positioned for another dynasty run in the NL East and he didn’t blow up his farm to do it. In fact MLB’s top pitching prospect Julio Teheran is knocking at the door.
