Right now, I'm not sure if Padres General Manager A.J. Preller should be commended or committed. Perhaps both. What he has done, and continues to do, with the Padres roster is astonishing.
The Chargers are a day away from playing a football game in December that could mean the difference in making the playoffs or not, and they've become an afterthought. It's all Padres all the time, and Preller is not showing signs of slowing down.
On the day the Friars introduced Matt Kemp and finalized a trade for Wil Myers, the ever-busy Preller worked another deal with the Braves to bring 27-year-old, 2-time All-Star Justin Upton to San Diego. Atlanta gets a package of four minor league prospects in return (LHP Max Fried, IF Dustin Peterson, IF Jace Peterson, OF Mallex Smith). San Diego also gets minor league right-hander Aaron Northcrarft in the deal.
Upton is in the final year of a 5-year, $50 million contract. The Padres will give him $14.5 million for 2015. Even if it is just a one-year rental, it's likely going to be one heck of a year. Upton hit 29 home runs and drove in a career-high 102 runs with the Braves last season. Defensively, Upton has incredible physical gifts and a long list of highlight reel catches on his resume, but is prone to mistakes and occasionally doesn't play up to his athletic potential.
However, that should not be a problem for the Padres in 2015. Upton is in a contract year and returning to the National League West, a place he knows well. Upton spent six years in Arizona before a trade took him to Georgia ahead of the 2013 season.
Upton will likely play left field in the new-look Padres outfield, with Kemp in right. According to Padres manager Bud Black, Myers is tentatively the centerfielder, but with seven outfielders now on the roster and under contract for 2015, a few deals still need to be made.
In a separate deal on Friday, the Padres beefed up their infield, agreeing to a deal with the Red Sox for 3rd baseman Will Middlebrooks. Boston will get catcher Ryan Hanigan, who just came over from Tampa in the Myers deal, in return. Injuries have derailed Middle brooks' career a bit, but the power potential is there.
Over the first 169 games of his career (split between 2012 and 2013), Middlebrooks hit 32 home runs with 103 RBI. He only hit two home runs in 63 games last season, when he went to the disabled list twice with a calf strain and a broken finger. Middlebrooks projects as an average to slightly above-average defensive 3rd baseman.
So far, it appears Preller's plan to add offense has worked amazingly well. He's gotten the players he wants. Now we'll see how good he is at unloading the players he doesn't want (and likely nobody else does, either).
