Did FW spend more than he had to for Upton?
The Phillies were the first to express interest in B.J. Upton.But their best offer was five years for $55 million.#Braves
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 29, 2012
Now we know why Upton signed so fast.
Assuming the Phils were, as reported, Upton’s other major suitor, how did the Braves end up paying $20 million more?
Did Wren just get snookered by an agent, a la the Derek Lowe signing? MAJOR blunder if so.
I’m not sure it’s fair to judge the deal from that perspective. I’m not convinced it’s FW’s finest move, but if FW identified the player he wanted and made an offer based on the value he believed Upton would bring to the team, then it doesn’t matter so much what the next highest offer was, especially if there was only one other team bidding. FW couldn’t have known what the Phils were offering. Now if no other club was willing to pay more than the Phils offered, that’s a different story and FW’s judgment should be questioned.
It’s amazing what the fear of Schafer in CF can cause people to do.
Spread out over 5 years it’s just an extra $4m per season, which isn’t too bad. And we can’t assume that BJ would have signed with us for $56m if that would have the Braves’ offer. Given the talent available this off-season, I don’t see this as a bad deal, especially with BJ’s age and power-potential.
Of course I reserve the right to completely change my mind come July 2013.
According to Jon Heyman Braves have traded SP Tommy Hanson for RP Jordan Walden from the Los Angeles Angels.
I get the feeling FW rushed to sign Upton. I find it hard to believe he couldn’t put together a better package for Span than the Nats.