[外電] Braves sign B.J. Upton 75M/5years

[linisthebest (辰辰)]

http://tinyurl.com/d8qw7bs

ATLANTA -- The Braves made B.J. Upton their primary offseason target, and
they likely can look forward to seeing him in their lineup for at least the
next five years.

Multiple Major League sources confirmed that Upton and the Braves have agreed
to a five-year deal worth approximately $75 million. The deal will be
officially announced pending the results of a physical scheduled for Thursday
morning in Atlanta.

Upton chose the Braves after drawing interest from the Phillies and to a
lesser extent, the Nationals. The 28-year-old outfielder had been with the
Rays since being taken with the second selection in the 2002 First-Year
Player Draft.

Along with enhancing the Braves' lineup with his coveted combination of speed
and power, Upton will bring his highly regarded defensive skills to an
outfield that already possesses Gold Glove right fielder Jason Heyward.

As things currently stand, Upton will replace Michael Bourn in center field,
as the Braves continue to search for a left fielder via a trade or the
free-agent market.

When the Braves began looking toward the future, they quickly determined
Upton was the most attractive outfielder on the free-agent market. They did
not have the financial resources available to compete for Josh Hamilton, and
they were hesitant about bringing Bourn back with a five-year deal.

With much of Bourn's value coming via his speed, the Braves were worried
about the production he might provide near the end of a five-year deal. The
speedy outfielder, who was acquired by the Braves at the 2011 Trade Deadline,
will turn 30 in December.

Along with being two years younger than Bourn, the 28-year-old Upton has
shown the ability to provide both power and speed. This combination and his
age seemingly made it easier for Atlanta to project what he might provide
over the life of the contract.

When the free-agent process began, Upton thought there was a good chance that
he would end up with the Phillies. But the Braves put themselves in position
to get a deal done when they made a solid impression on the veteran
outfielder during his Nov. 15 visit to Turner Field.

General manager Frank Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez both were impressed
with the maturity and knowledge Upton showed during that meeting.

Upton's visit to Atlanta was enhanced when former manager Bobby Cox stopped
by the clubhouse and spent some time talking baseball with the five-tool
outfielder.

Upton batted .246 with a career-high 28 homers and a .752 OPS in 146 games
with the Rays in 2012. He also recorded a career-high 169 strikeouts and
posted an alarming .298 on-base percentage.

Over the past three seasons, Upton has combined to hit .242 with a .317
on-base percentage and .436 slugging percentage.

These are not the numbers that were necessarily envisioned when Upton was
drafted with great expectations 10 years ago. But the athletic outfielder has
continued to impress scouts with his skills and ability to come through in
the clutch. He hit eight home runs while helping Tampa Bay reach the 2008
World Series.

Upton has increased his home run total each of the past five years and he has
recorded at least 31 stolen bases each of the past five seasons. He finished
two home runs shy of joining the 30/30 club in 2012.

75M/5years BJ加入勇士!

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→ Dimitre:OP
推 monkeydk:正式新聞稿，twitter只能說有消息。
推 pennix:BJ ~ Go!
推 Car1osCorrea:!!
推 ss184:我覺得Cody Ross都比他好:)..
推 cloudfour:Cody Ross沒有腿
推 huso:Ross守備不好 差多了
推 kenshinwerra:..Cody幾歲 BJ幾歲
推 JakeMcGee:Upton還可以期待再長 Ross大概就這樣甚至會下滑也不一定
推 Phatmen:會說Cody Ross比較好的真是讓我大開眼界
推 maxspeed150:拿一個4th OF跟守備好又有腿有power的CF比.....
推 externaload:Ross今年是因為芬威 打擊多少有加分 說他比BJ好是?
推 lusanova:BJ都拿這種大約了...美金真不值錢
推 iluy:四拍子的CF捏
推 b2209187:Ross比他好？那麼好就不會到處當浪人
推 kutar3d:可能因為Ross有拿過戒指吧 XD
推 iso903306:腿哥拿大約幾乎都.....
推 meteorhades:說Ross比他好讓我笑了
推 au3rupy3:再見了BJ 永遠記得08季後賽跟龍哥一起砲轟紅襪
→ mayday6308:Ross是突然勇起來  令人懷疑是不是有服用"壯陽藥"
推 maxspeed150:Ross也沒有特別勇 就芬威王
→ sneak: 腿哥拿大約幾乎都... https://noxiv.com