PLAYING TIME: CFs Upton, Span find new homes
Nov 30 2012
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Braves replace Bourn with B.J. Upton
Faced with the pending free agency of CF incumbent Michael Bourn, ATL decided to go younger-with-power by signing free agent B.J. Upton (OF, ATL) to a five-year, $75M+ deal. Having never quite lived up to his hype, Upton remains a somewhat polarizing player among most analysts and fantasy owners. The pluses for the Braves include inking Upton during his prime years, from age 28 through 32. They also get a right-handed hitter to complement a left-handed-leaning lineup—and one with steadily-increasing 20+ HR power to go along with a running game that has produced 196 SB over the past five years.
Along with being at least a slight defensive downgrade from Bourn, Upton's minuses...
Almost!
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