clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Braves Favored To Land B.J. Upton

As the decision nears for B.J. Upton, are the Braves in the lead to land his services?

Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

An interesting tweet this afternoon from ESPN Radio host Jim Bowden, regarding the Atlanta Braves pursuit of B.J. Upton:

Ah, the wonders of the "mystery team." It's going to be expensive enough bidding against the Phillies for Upton's services, but now a mystery team? Of course, mystery teams are often interjected by agents, via media types like Bowden, to push dollar figures up.

Hopefully the Braves are bidding smartly on Upton, and remembering the lessons of their bidding war against mystery teams for the "services" of Derek Lowe several years ago. It turned out that the Braves were way above any other team on their offer to Lowe.

Other tweets today have indicated that Upton will likely make a decision this week regarding who to sign with.

I'm still not sold on Upton as the right fit for Atlanta. Too much emphasis seems to be being placed on his right-handedness and future projection vis-a-vis his youth -- he's the youngest free agent on the market this season at 29. I'm skeptical that the Braves lineup can afford to add the strikeouts that Upton would bring with him, despite his power-speed combo.

Sign up for the newsletter Sign up for the Battery Power Daily Roundup newsletter!

A daily roundup of Atlanta Braves news from Battery Power