You thought all of the major trades were over, huh? You thought there wouldn’t be any big names getting moved until the trade deadline, right? YOU ARE WRONG.
The Atlanta Braves have traded All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and salary black hole Melvin Upton Jr. to the San Diego Padres for a package that includes outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin.
Source: Braves have traded Craig Kimbrel and B.J. Upton to the Padres
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) April 5, 2015
Complete deal: Kimbrel and B.J. from #Braves to #Padres for Quentin, Maybin, Wisler, Paroubeck and 41st pick.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 5, 2015
So, this is completely insane.
Kimbrel is, obviously, the best closer in baseball. He’s saved 185 games over the past four seasons, and has a 1.43 ERA and 476 strikeouts in 289 career innings. He’s guaranteed a total of $34 million over the next three seasons, with a $1 million buyout on a $13 million club option in 2018. He’ll bump Joaquin Benoit from the closer’s role in San Diego and turn the Padres bullpen into one of the best in baseball.
Upton had become a sunk cost in Atlanta, and was going to start the year on the DL anyway. He was awful in his first two seasons with the Braves, and is still owed $46.2 million over the next three seasons.
Maybin and Quentin are also sunk costs in their own right, but for a shorter period of time than Upton. Maybin is owed $16 million over the next two years, and has played just 109 games over the last two seasons with the Padres. Quentin is owed $8 million in 2015, and has a $3 million buyout on a 2016 mutual option. He hit just four homers over 50 games lats year, the worst of his pro career.
Matt Wisler is the prize in the deal for Atlanta, a top 50 prospect that turned 22 in September and struck out 136 over 146 2/3 innings in AA and AAA. He did have a bit of an issue with homers in AAA, but that’ll happen in the PCL. Jordan Paroubeck was the 69th overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Padres, and is a nice prospect. He spent the 2014 season with the Padres Rookie League affiliate, and hit .286/.346/.457 over 34 games.
Atlanta also snags San Diego’s competitive balance pick in June’s draft, which will be the 41st overall.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Atlanta tried to flip Quentin, or just released him and ate what’s left on his contract. He’s injury prone, and can’t play the field all that well anymore, so the Braves giving him at bats doesn’t make too much sense. Maybin could still earn some at bats with the Braves and produce some value, while Atlanta also gets value for the future with Wisler, Paroubeck, and the draft pick.
As for the Padres, they get some outfield depth with Upton (in case Wil Myers can’t play center field), and bolster their bullpen even more while also shedding the contracts of two players they simply didn’t have room for on their team this season and in the future. Seems like fair value for both sides.
