Justin Upton to the Braves!

[bird_dirt]

Love this pic!

[Ruckus]

The more I look at it the more I like it. These dudes are gonna ball out next season. Plus we didn't have to trade our top prospect pitcher. And Johnson is no scrub anyway. The Braves' organization has a way to get the most out of their players and the upside here is def in our favor. I think we will be fine. Fine indeed.

[HawkItus]

Good deal.

[macdaddy]

Losing Prado gonna hurt. I like the Upton bros, but I think they are overrated. At least Justin is young enoughto improve. Gonna be a LOT of Ks iin this lineup this year and Martin's OBP gonna be missed. Great marketing strategy by the braves though, hope it doesnt come back to bite them in the ass when they want to trade or let one go and not the other.

Strikeouts is what concerns me. When you get to the playoffs its hard to succeed with high strikeout guys when you are facing nothing but elite pitching.

Still i think this is a great team and a really marketable one as well. Hawks take note. It stinks for Prado because the guy did everything for us. He's not flashy but he's a great hitter and fielder. Clutch guys are hard to come by.

But I'm rolling with my new Braves motto this year:

Up-Up-Heyyyyyyy

[WraithSentinel]

Those wondering what our Line-up may look like. I read Fredi is already got one in mind.1.Simmons2.Heyward3.J.Upton4.McCann(if healthy)5.B.Upton6.Freeman7.Uggla8.Johnson/Francisco platoonI like the lineup there. I would just switch McCann and Freeman though.

[coachx]

Wow! I am excited about this move. I hope it turns out to be a good thing for both Upton brothers. Heyward and the Uptons are the most athletic outfield I can remember for any team. Some serious skills as well. This is an exciting development for the team. It is possible we will be able to get Upton on a decently priced extension if he is excited about playing with his brother as well. Given the talent we divested, the Braves will need to make sure Upton is here for a while (unlike someone like Mark Texiera for whom we gave up a ton for very little payback).

Most athletic OF since Cardinals of the 80's with Vince Coleman and Willie McGee.I like the upside of the roster. At the same time they may set a MLB record for strikeouts...................but will hit some HRs.

[AHawks89]

Oh well, a strike out is just another out.

I'm assuming that if we do indeed strike out a lot, there will be a lot of hit and runs down the stretch due to us having a lot of speed now. We'll make the pitchers work for those strike outs. That's what I love about this team - our speed guys are all power guys, too (except Simmons). So having one of them on base will make the pitcher throw more strikes. Chipper needs to hurry back and return in an ATL uniform to be our hitting coach.

Edited January 26, 2013 by AHawks89

[frosgrim]

I really like the trade for Justin Upton. I would still like to see another contact hitter brought in to play 2nd at somepoint. We could make a trade by agreeing to pay a significant portion of Uggla's salary and include a pitcher, like Teheran or even Venters, if a good enough trade could be worked out.

[AHF]

We have shipped out a lot of pitching lately. I would be loathe to ship out more pitching without knowing I was getting a completely lopsided deal. We have to maintain our edge in pitching.

[macdaddy]

Maybe Uggla will have a good year. His defense is good and his power is pretty good for a 2b. 2 uptons, uggla, and heyward strike out A LOT. I didn't realize Bourn struck out so much though so he and BJ are a wash.

[jhay610]

Maybe Uggla will have a good year. His defense is good and his power is pretty good for a 2b. 2 uptons, uggla, and heyward strike out A LOT. I didn't realize Bourn struck out so much though so he and BJ are a wash.

Actually, it is well known that Uggla has been one of the worst fielding 2B in the league over his career, although last year was something of a career year for him in the field as he rated a little above average.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/ugglada01-field.shtml

Edited January 28, 2013 by jhay610

[AHawks89]

Uggla's defense has improved over the years, well, at least he's been fielding better as a Brave. Back when he was with the Marlins, his defense was terrible then he show cased it during the All Star Game.

I'm just glad he is better defensively than he has ever been. I'm hoping he won't be as bad as his last two seasons.

[phoostal]

Pitchers and Catchers report this Monday can't wait