The Indians have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (on Twitter). Upton has already passed his physical, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, adding that the deal comes with a $1.5MM base salary in the Majors. Upton is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
Upton, 33, scarcely played in 2017 after being released by the Blue Jays at the end of Spring Training. He latched on with the Giants on a minor league deal shortly thereafter but quickly suffered a torn ligament in his thumb that required surgical repair. Upton returned to action in August but requested and received his release that month.
Overall, Upton appeared in just 12 Triple-A games last season, hitting .244/.306/.333 in a minuscule sample of 49 plate appearances. Though his five-year, $72.25MM contract was a notorious misstep for the Braves, Upton did show some signs of life in the late stages of that deal after he’d been passed off onto the Padres. In 602 plate appearances with San Diego fro 2015-16, Upton slashed a respectable .257/.313/.435 (103 OPS+) with 21 homers and 29 stolen bases. His production cratered again following a trade to the Blue Jays, however (.196/.261/.318 in 165 PAs to close out the 2016 campaign).
The Indians will obviously hope that Upton can more closely approximate the level of output he demonstrated as a member of the Padres. The signing bears a strong resemblance to Cleveland’s minor league deal with Austin Jackson last offseason, and Upton could head to Spring Training and vie for a similar role to the one Jackson held in 2017 (though the addition of Upton likely doesn’t preclude the possibility of a reunion with Jackson himself).
Keep wasting time on Mendoza line retreads. Anything to keep a future start from accruing MLB time.
It’s a minor league deal, chill. These deals have worked out quite well for the tribe in the past e.g. Austin Jackson.
I find it hilarious that such a large contingent of individuals in the baseball community have a propensity to lump certain players in with each other and regurgitate/perpetuate such pseudoanalysis based on little more than how they look.
So far I’ve seen Austin Jackson, Carl Crawford, and Rajai Davis. All are completely different players with distinct skill sets, who have wide range of attributes, and aren’t even good comps for each other in most instances.
I’m not saying that you necessarily did that in this particular instance, or that it’s even done on a conscious level, but it’s something that I’ve noticed over many years. I mean honestly, it happens a lot.
What is the point of your post?
At no point did I compare Austin Jackson and Upton.
I simply provided an example of when a minor league signing provided a veteran an option to prove his worth prior to the team committing a roster spot to him creating both an opportunity and roster flexibility.
He’s one worst fanboy trolls I’ve seen post on this site. He’s an expert on ALL things baseball. Just ask him, he’ll tell you.
Exactly. That has to be the worst feeling as a guy who’s clearly better than one of these JAGS that come strolling in, just knowing you’re a far superior ball player, but yet the organization would rather save a buck than put the best possible product out there on the field. It’s truly sickening. They need to find a way to address it to in the next CBA, it’s bad for the game.
Who exactly is this signing blocking and how are they saving a buck?
Only a very large unit would make such an idiotic statement as that post above.
He regained some form in sd
Chill
Wow this dude fell off faster than Carl Crawford. Just 3 years ago he was playing with his brother in Atlanta and San Diego.
Now justin Upton is with the los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. 50 miles from LA. Making 100mil
While it has been cool to see the Upton brothers both have varying degrees of success in the big leagues, Melvin was right when he dumped his nickname. He’s no Bigman. He’s not even a Bigman junior.
Sorry, bossman, not Bigman
I think the large contract affected his play
Now he can just play no large contracts out there anymore
I for one will be using Bigman Junior in reference to Melvin Upton for the rest of my life.
Thanks duder
Does he still play GG caliber defense? If so, I don’t mind the idea of him being the right handed half of a CF platoon with Zimmer.
No
No, and I wouldn’t platoon Zimmer anyway because he needs to be playing every day
If he could play a Gold Glove caliber CF, he would’ve gotten a pretty good contract. He’s an above-average defensive corner outfielder with a below-average bat, which is why he had to settle for a minor-league contract
He does just not in center
Did he ever have GG caliber defense? I’m not saying he is a bad defender, but if you look at it, 2016 is the only season that really stands out. 10 DRS.
My mom will get a good laugh out of this signing. She was happy when her Braves jettisoned him. Now she can give me some good natured grief over this.
That said, I hope he surprises everyone and has a great year for us like Jackson did.
Low risk signing. I like the potential upside.
He is there just in case other plans do not work out. A plan C available in a pinch, if he sucks in spring training just release him and it costs next to nothing
Melvin Upton Jr. has nine lives.
Facts
Beyond time to retire.
Me too
Has the Tribe given up on Tyler Naquin?
Seems to appear that way, don’t it? Makes me wonder why they used a 1st round pick on him.
I seem to remember reading something that basically said Naquin has been asked to be basically a throw-in for trades and, naturally, the Tribe aren’t just going to give him away. It seems they’re pretty determined to have righty CF option and that isn’t Naquin (nor should it be with his defense). If this isn’t all just “GM Talk” and no one is willing to give real value for Naquin, then I’d look for him to be the Indians RF in 2019 after Lonnie leaves.
As for Upton, meh. Being a Braves fan as well, I just don’t have much faith in him. The big difference I see in Jackson and Upton is the ability to put the ball in play. Their OPS from 14-16 is identical, but Upton is just too streaky to gamble on when he’d play just 1 or 2 times per week if he’s the backup CF.
This is interesting