3:12pm: Upton will sign with the Giants, Feinsand reports (Twitter links). Upton’s deal will be of the minor-league variety, and he will report to Triple-A Sacramento. He is a client of Reynolds Sports Management.
As noted below, the Giants can use extra outfield depth, and Upton could conceivably play left field against lefties, pairing with Jarrett Parker. As Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets, the Giants until recently did not seem to have interest in Upton. Parker and the Giants’ other left fielders have started the season poorly, though, with Parker going 0-for-10 with six strikeouts. The Giants’ change of heart might have had something to do with those struggles.
The Giants also have Mac Williamson for the sort of role Upton might eventually occupy, although Williamson is currently on the DL with a quad injury. Another potential option, Michael Morse, is also currently hurt. The Giants also recently signed another veteran, Drew Stubbs, to bolster their supply of outfielders. The Giants had also been connected to free agent Angel Pagan, who of course is no stranger to the organization; Upton’s signing perhaps makes a reunion less likely.
2:50pm: Free agent outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. is likely to sign with a National League team today, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets. The Blue Jays released Upton last week after telling him he wouldn’t make their club out of Spring Training.
The identity of the signing team isn’t currently known. Speculatively, the Giants could use a bit of extra depth, and the right-handed Upton could be a fit, with left-handed Jarrett Parker in left field. If Upton and the Braves might have interest in a reunion, that club has been known to have interest in bench help, and they have left-handed Nick Markakis in right. The Padres have a very young outfield and presumably have memories of Upton’s previous tenure there; they might see him as a stabilizing presence. Upton might also be a decent short-term fit in Colorado, where lefty Gerardo Parra is playing left while David Dahl nurses a rib injury.
Of course, Upton could also potentially sign a minor-league deal elsewhere and wait for an opportunity. But he might be able to find a situation where he can play right away, or close to it. He hit poorly down the stretch last year with the Blue Jays, but as Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe pointed out earlier today, Upton previously having revived his career in San Diego might convince interested teams to gamble on his upside. He seems likely to generate more interest than the typical minor-league free agent. The Padres are also paying the bulk of his remaining salary, so interested teams won’t have to worry much about his cost.
Who???
Mets? Conforto to aaa?
Would be a decent move. That poor kid is wasting away on the bench. Hopefully next year they give him a chance once some of the vets leave
He’s going to go down when Lagares is back up.
I hope so. I’m a Phils fan but I like the kid and wish he would just get a chance. This up and down stuff is ridiculous. He’s shown enough to get a chance, but only because of bad contracts still on the book, he hasn’t received one.
Can Upton come out of the pen for the Giants?
Ouch. (Hilarious)
well if he did he may be better than what we have now.
Last time I looked the Giants were starting Aaron Hill in left field; certainly Upton is an improvement on that, even just defensively. The Padres are paying full freight on the contract so it’s not like anybody is making a big sacrifice by signing him.
yeah right now improving anything is a good thing – there has been zero production out of left field unless you count hill who has only played a couple of times there, but parker and morreroso far are 0 for the season.
Upton is in no means an improvement.
Upton played fairly well last year in the NL West and is certainly an improvement over playing a no-hit backup infielder in left.
AAA affiliate is in Sac
Fresno or sac hahaha
Sac. As of 15
Giants. Calling it.
Uhhh….
Well he called it after all!
…and poor Carlos Moncrief had just made it back onto the Sacramento roster yesterday
I know he has been bad for quite a while but at this point I think d take him over Span.
Remember when everyone thought that the Giants were nuts going into the season with Parker and Williamson in left ? Yeah, all of baseball was right.
HA! yeah and I don’t think I saw anyone say they thought that was a good idea. Yesterday’s OF lineup was a joke. Hill, Hernandez and Parker!
Not that I’m all that excited about Upton but he plays CF right? I gotta think SF need some depth in that position. Hernandez really looks overmatched at the plate right now although it’s early and he could be one of those guys that just needs a lot of at bats and patience to prosper.
Funny that ever since melvin camr on the scene you havent heard much from BJ upton. It would be cool to have all 3 of the brothers on the same club.
BJ and Melvin are the same person.
Haha this just made my day. easy mistake to make but funny none the less
LOL
Ha
Haha I hope he was joking. But if not that was funny.
The Braves would have faced a full-on fan revolt had they brought back Melvin/BJ. Waaaaay too much baggage. They’d rather give the bat to Bartolo Colon than to Melvin/BJ.
LOL. He did nada in a Braves uni.
I don’t see much here….. He’s done…….
I believe it took SF LF’s 7 games to come up with their first hit on the season. Bravo Evans. Way to waste our superb core with this penny pinching BS.
Ummm… Sign Bonds for left. At least he gives them power! Haha!