The Atlanta Braves have been trying to sell other clubs on B.J. Upton, according to ESPN's Buster Olney, and unless they've found the real life Nick Naylor, they're going to have some trouble.
Braves ‘pitching’ B.J. Upton in trade talks, per report
It’s hard to imagine this working out better than his contract.
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Upton is signed through 2017 for a total of $46.35 million, and has been a detriment to the Braves since signing his five-year, $75 million contract prior to the 2013 season. In the past two seasons, he’s been worth -0.2 fWAR, and even if you don’t like advanced stats, his .198/.279/.314 slash line over the past two seasons are enough to make even the sturdiest among us blanch.
The Braves would likely have to eat a massive portion of his remaining salary, and even then wouldn't receive much in return. Another option would be to pair him with a productive player like Evan Gattis, to try and get out from some of the monetary commitment.
To prove the point that Upton’s performance has caused him to become a bit of a punch line, here’s Twitter’s reaction to Olney’s tweet:
Thank god "@Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs."
— Drew Harrison (@drewtharrison) November 12, 2014 "@Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs."probably ended in a strikeout
— Keith Kleparski (@realKeithK) November 12, 2014 I'm sure they are swinging and missing like him RT @Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs.
— cold world (@EverybodyHatesX) November 12, 2014 And B.J. still managed to strike out. "@Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs."
— Nate (@nate_braves) November 12, 2014 All parties struck out "@Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs."
— Steve Carter (@SteveCarterPP) November 12, 2014 Low and away? RT @Buster_ESPN: The Braves have been pitching B.J. Upton to other clubs.
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) November 11, 2014 Nothing like Twitter to remind us how unoriginal we all are, right?
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