The Angels have released Justin Upton, per the team’s transactions tracker at MLB.com.
The move isn’t terribly shocking, as Upton was designated for assignment last week. With $28MM remaining on his contract, no team was going to claim him on waivers, as doing so would mean absorbing that entire cost. However, the Angels could have tried to eat some of that salary as a way of working out a trade with another team, but evidently either didn’t try or didn’t succeed at doing so.
Now that he has been released, the other 29 teams in the league will be free to sign Upton and pay him just the league minimum salary, with the Angels on the hook for the remainder. This is the second time in the past year that the Angels have jettisoned a veteran player on an expensive contract, after doing the same with Albert Pujols in May of last year.
Pujols ended up landing with the Dodgers, who tried their best to limit his exposure to same-sided pitching. In 85 games with the Dodgers, he put up an overall line of .254/.299/.460 for a wRC of 101. Upton is coming off three straight below-average years at the plate, but he could follow a similar path to his former teammate. His career splits aren’t terribly drastic, with a wRC+ of 127 against southpaws and 115 against righties. Last year, however, it was more stark, with a .225/.355/.483 line against lefties amounting to a wRC+ of 130. Against northpaws, it was just .205/.272/.380, wRC+ of 76.
For a team that needs a right-handed bat for their bench/pinch hitter/designated hitter mix, they could do much worse than taking a flier on the 34-year-old at no cost. Upton hasn’t been an above average defensive outfielder in some time, though he was working on playing first base in Spring Training, which could theoretically increase his market, in addition to the implementation of the universal DH this year.
Typical Angels
Typical Mariner fan reaction
Pujols last year and Upton this year so
Next year Justin Uptons wife will have surgery and he will divorce her.
The circle of life.
Stupid comment get education first n come back
The Rangers are still laughing at the Angels about Josh Hamilton
They better not be. Josh has a temper
The Rangers just gave up 10 runs to Toronto tonight and blew a 6-0 lead so they aren’t laughing at anyone.
It was 7-0
Northpaw?
I must admit to rather liking “northpaw” and will use it more in conversation.
Toronto may have the best line-up in baseball. They will do damage to many teams. Gray was mowing them down until a blister popped up on his hand in the 3rd.
With the nickname of “Southpaw” for lefties, is this really the first time you’ve heard or realized a righty would be called a “northpaw”?
First time I ever thought about it
I liked that one, @Dewey.
I’m a northpaw myself, @A’sfaninLondonUK.
Adell is off to a nice start too, 0-5 with 5 K’s
@Tcsbaseball re Adell
He only does it to fuel trade conversations in the chats. Is it possible for MLBTR readers to sponsor his uniform now before PTBNL beats us to it?
And missing catchers by 20 feet.
Bucs should pick him up, hope he plays ok and flip him for a prospect at the deadline
Or maybe just you know play for them because that roster is baddddd
Dreams dreams dreams
I don’t think it’s THAT much of a dream. At league minimum, someone will give him a shot.
He’s not bringing anything back at the deadline. Perfectly good starting left fielder or DH for a team that is losing or has the lineup to carry him.
League minimum?
Lord. Someone steal Cashman’s cell phone.
padres legend justin upton
He will put up a solid slash this year and sign a two year deal that the team will regret shortly after opening day 2023.
I bet the Mariners grab him. Dipoto will do it to spite the Angels
Nah. Building the Mariners to #1 farm was a to the Angels
Please let a small market team with no hope claim him, fix him, and flip him at the trade deadline.
I’d like to see that myself and I would love to see that happen wearing an eye patch and a hook.
Rays could use him, having JLowe as the DH against a LH starter is absurd. Wake up Neander! Bring up Lowe when you trade KK.
Cleveland Indians here he goes
ehhh I think his league minimum salary would be tough for them to squeeze into that payroll
If he can play 1B, he’s legitimately a better platoon option than Chang or Miller.
They’d have very little to lose in brining in Upton to play 1B. This makes a ton of sense for CLE, but they won’t do it (there’s always an excuse) because they have a 40-man roster crunch, and they’d have to DFA someone.
The Angels experimented with Upton at 1B, but it did not work out. He is best utilized as a DH and in LF. That said, I did not think anyone would sign Pujols last year so I’m not the best source.
Cleveland has a second team?
I just know about the ‘ians.
Mr. Cashman on line one.
Scroll up. I am hoping someone steals his cellphone, man. After making us all have to root for MarwinfeckingGonzalez we simply cannot trust that man.
Future Yankee or Dodger
Not anymore, man. Yankees are so far removed from that now, it’s not even funny. He’s probably way too expensive for the Yanks right now.
Yankees being unable to afford league minimum is really funny
League minimum, Clip. Cash probably needs some alone time just hearing those words.
I’m not that familiar with the Yanks 40-man, maybe someone can help me out there, but I find it hard to believe there’s anyone that they’d be willing to waive to make room for Upton. It would seem silly to put a young guy, under team control but out of options, through waivers, to sign Upton. Seems like it would have to be a pitcher if they did. As it is, I know they have a couple guys on the 60 day IL, but not sure if they’re expected back, which could complicate things later on.
They signed Marwin Gonzalez who had an OPS 98 points lower than Tyler Wade. I don’t think it’ll happen. I also think it could, tad. Like for real.
Dude sucks. He’s a man of glass. ALEAYS getting injured.
I bet he’s good at spelling though.
Aleays wins the local spelling bee!
Typing is a different skill than spelling. (The W and E keys are right next to each other.)
Fuggouttahere.
The E is silent
I’m still thinking Boston. Everyone thought Rob R was making the club. He didn’t buy the team still needs a right handed hitting outfielder and at minimal cost, why not?
Yous guys gots jokes, but how do yous know, it might be an acronym that ain’t popular yet?
I’d love to see the Braves bring him back. And they could definitely use an upgrade at DH for the next month until Ronnie is back.
Acuna deserves a better nickname than adding an ie or y to his name. Make it happen.
He was a big fan of the back to back to back academy award winning Kurt Russell film Captain Ron. That’s why he likes being called Ron or Ronnie.
No one calls him any variation of Ron
Oh elmedius. You brought my horrible ideas on yourself. That and I’m stoned enough to think this might be clever. =}
Nicknames for Ronald Acuna:
RCuna or Arcuna: kind of a classic
Also; HRcuna or maybe AcunRunscoreda
nickname? how about
Ronald “Freddie tried to teach me how to respect the game but I’m a child and didn’t want to listen, so I waited until he was long gone to talk trash about him” Acuna Jr.
A bit wordy, but it’s got a nice ring to it.
or, to really encapsulate his league-leading ability to stand and admire long drives that are short of a home run, he could be dubbed
Ronald “long singles” Acuna Jr. That’s got a really nice ring to it…
“Here comes ol’ Ronnie Long Singles”
Ronnie Long Singles is a pretty great name
Acuna Matata
Acuron?
Good pickup for Rays or Marlins. Minimum salary for a player with some pop, only $700k.
Too expensive for the Marlins. Maybe they can lure BJ out of retirement at a discount.
But…they’d be paid the same.
Although anyone named Bossman Junior should be paid more than everyone else. It’s just science.
League minimum is too expensive? Wow, the Marlins are worse off than I thought.
Tampa could use him. My gosh Josh Lowe as the DH vs a LH starter. Come on Rays quit being cute , Ramirez is a maybe. This reminds me of Tsutugo. Get a real RHH DH!
Josh don’t need to be platooned. Let the young studs play every day!
He signed a ball for my son so not a terrible dude, just a player in serious decline.
I read an interesting article about him once a long piece in some magazine back when we read magazines and when he was young
Tigers platoon him with Meadows?
No room for him on Tigers. Riley Green will come back and bump a current, young, producing major league player on both offense and defense to AAA.
Didn’t Tigers trade him to the Angels already?!
The Tigers will not sign him. By the time Greene is ready, the outfield situation will shake out as they will go with Meadows, Baddoo, Greene and Grossman and Haase (who has proven he can catch and play left field) I’d like to know which young, producing player on offense and defense will be sent down. All that’s left after that is Reyes who is streaky at best and his time is nearing an end. He’ll probably have limited time in the outfield and will do what he does best and pinch run for Miggy in the late innings. Tigers aren’t and shouldn’t be in the discussion to reacquire Upton, who yes they traded to the Angels previously. Also, don’t forget they still will promote Pineda once his innings are ramped up and likely will do the same for Peralta as well, so Reyes might be DFAd for one of them. Plus, Chafin will be activated by the time Greene is ready.
The ChiSox seem bent on ruining their superb rebuilding efforts of the last few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Justin Upton ends up the CHW DH.
If the White Sox sign Upton, the Tigers win the Central and Tony LaRussa reretires at the end of the season. Inevitable scenario right?
Tony LaRussa retired 10 years ago. IAt the beginning of the off season, I thought the ChiSox run away from the division. Now, I don’t think ChiSox even win the division anymore. Pitching is questionable and the entire division has improved.
I will forever be thankful for Upton’s rain delayed walkoff HR in SD against the Mets in 2015 that was the catalyst for the Mets trip to the World Series. We didn’t get a ring but it was a fun season and playoffs. Future is bright. LFGM
It may be the Nats they are playing but its nice to see them executing with men on base and just hitting the ball instead of swinging for the fences and striking or popping out. LFGM
Two major changes being overlooked by the non-believers are just how good the offseason additions to the lineup will be and Buck’s ability to manage a pitching staff over the long haul.
I hope he can bounce back, but also he’ll be 35 this season. He needs to get some Barry training soon.
I could see the A’s signing him. The 18-year Upton run in MLB that started in 2004 with BJ may be coming to the end.
Yep this would be perfect for the A’s situation
Should have released Ohtani so the Yankees could pick him up.
Arte Moreno messed up the Angels with Pujols, Wilson, Hamilton, Wells, Matthews, Upton, and soon to be Rendon.
Mike Scioscia and Arte Moreno messed up by not letting Jose Guillen play in the ‘04 playoffs. Jeff DeVannon, really?
Seems like the smart move would have been to trade Trout and collect a whole farm system for him.
I agree with most of what you said.
I do not agree with the Trout comment. I think the problem has been compounding when Moreno kept buying the expensive aging position players instead of top caliber pitchers and just trying to push the luck button with the bounce back candidates or mid-rotation pitchers.
It will at least take 2-3 years to correct the damage Moreno has done and by then Trout will be past his prime and Ohtani possibly gone 🙁
Your last stanza makes a great case for why they should trade Trout
Or sign some good pitchers. Payroll is at $189M. It’s LA, or Anaheim if you want to be technical, and they’re perennially in top ten in gate receipts.
@mikepiazzapie
Too late. With that contract, there is little surplus value. Trout would not be easy to trade. The Angels would get a lot less than expected back, as it would basically be a salary dump move. Only large market teams would be an option.
Steve Cohen on line 1.
Jose Guillen was a good player but I read he was difficult. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Yes, but when it comes to the playoffs go with what got you there. I say tough it out Mike Scioscia! Release the guy in the off-season.
Even that Trout contract is going to turn into a huge albatross. Will it be in 1 year or 2 or 3 or 4? It’s inevitable.
Reds need a LF or a bat. He can DH. Plus, GABP would be a great fit for 30+ HR. You know Moose Pham and Senzel won’t stay healthy for 162 games. All three will end up on the IL. Aquino had 4ks vs Atlanta. Not a high risk for #SELLTHETEAMBOB!
Top 3. And Trout is going no where. You guys need new material. If a team had really good players and wanted Trout. Why would Trout agree to go to the team that traded away their best prospects for 1 player. The new team would be worse than the Angel team he’s leaving. I
You replied to a comment talking about the Reds taking a flier on signing Upton and assumed they were taking about Trout. They didn’t make one mention of Trout. Trout being moved was brought up in comments above that one.
Joe it all – I was replying to Yankee Bleacher but Joey Votto got his post in before mine. .
You’re on a completely different thread bud. Try again
Lol it’s not even the same comment chain. You just clicked the wrong spot. It’s okay to admit that.
Again I was replying to Yankee. That’s why at beginning I put Top3 in reference to his statement about the Angels being in top 10 in gate receipts.
He would be the best player on the A’s.
By a lot!
Upton will get a game-winning hit in the ALCS… for the Astros.
Only if they tell him which pitch is coming.
For a moment I was thinking my A’s should grab him until I realized a moment later they WANT to be bad and went through a lot of effort to be bad. Might as well let’s the kids play
Have you seen Upton play? He’d fit right in to the A’s mold.
I doubt any team with no contention aspirations would take him. Why give up a 40 man position he will not create a deadline return better chance of DFA before then. Maybe Cubs, Guardians or Giants give him a short lease chance as a platoon right side DH.
Not sure about the Cubs, or Guards, but I doubt the Giants have any interest, at all. It’s hard to imagine who they think is worse than Upton on the 40 man that they would waive. I suppose a minor league deal for depth is possible, but otherwise, the Giants signing Upton isn’t going to happen.
Angels could use an outfielder.
Angels could use a manager. I was curious as to why people have been upset with Maddon, but the first two game have made me understand.
Been saying this since they signed him……He’s brutal when it comes to managing a pitching staff. When assembling a line up card thinks it fun to play someone out of position.
I think Maddon’s biggest problem is not evolving as the game evolves. He was ahead of his time in Tampa, on even ground in Chicago, now he’s behind in Anaheim.
He loves to bat Walsh 6th and have someone like Matt Duffy hit cleanup.
It’s hard to imagine any team with hopes of contending, or with any kind of a 40 man roster crunch, signing Upton to anything more than a MiL deal purely for depth. I could be wrong, since I was surprised that Pujols gut a ML deal last season. But, even at the league minimum salary, how much would teams expect to get from a 35 year old that’s a defensive liability that’s had only a 90 OPS+ over the last 3 seasons?
A team that wants a platoon OF/DH bat. His ability to hit lefties hard remains intact. Not sure if that team is out there with this exact need, but I suspect some team will sign him.
Yeah, some team. But like I said, I doubt it will be a serious contender, or one with a full 40 man. Someone mentioned the Giants, but there’s isn’t a guy on their roster, that they would waive to clear a spot for Upton. I suspect that’s the case with most of the better teams.
Plus, I looked at Upton’s splits over the last 3 years, and I’d be careful assuming he’ll continue to hit lefties hard. He did in 2021, but not so much the previous 2 years.
2021 is a somewhat small sample, 89 ABs, That big .838 OPS was fueled by a .355 OBP. His OPS against lefties in 2019 and 2020 was .541 and .796. Since 2019, his BA against LHPs is .196, and his SLG is .438.
It’s hard to imagine a contending team in that serious a need for a RH bat.
Cue the, no one wants him now but we can somehow sign him and trade him at the deadline nonsense crew
It’s not as if this exact scenario hasn’t happened before. Look at Eric Sogard.
That it’s supposedly happened before doesn’t make it a good bet. And as a Met fan, let me tell you, so many of these “toss a guy away for lotto prospects” trades, most of them, amount to zero. There’s little value here.
Does this mean Ann-Margret’s not coming?
does this mean I don’t get to do the duet?
You can do a duece
Upton is example #7,462 for why nobody will sign Judge until he’s 40. Not unless he goes to Nelson Cruz’ stero….err, I mean, nutritionist.
@Clip, just realized we posted the same Judge/Upton warning at the same time! It’s a valid warning.
Doesn’t bother me when guys bet on themselves.
Quite the opposite actually. I’ve done the same – on a lesser level obviously – & I’ve no regrets.
What bothers me is that this is yet another example of Brian Cashman completely misreading the market. Been a lot of that lately. Remember when he made an offer to Verlander? Just think how differently we would be viewing our off-season had Cash landed him & then did the rest of his piddling around.
Had that one single transaction been successful, we would all be saying Cash had a really good/excellent off-season (still would have needed another bat though; kicking dead horse yet again). Instead of whatever we are saying right now.
Upton should serve as a cautionary tale for whichever team ends up signing Judge.
Upton was the #1 pick in the nation. An impact hitter; major leaguer by 19; already an All-Star at 22, an age when Judge was still in college. Upton was a plus hitter for a decade. His last good year? 2018 when he was 30-years-old. That’s Judge’s age this season. Judge is a more dangerous hitter and better player than Upton was at a similar age, but Judge has a big swing, a big body, and one that’s been prone to a few soft-tissue injuries. Buyer beware. The Yankees offer was probably too generous in years. I’d go higher AAV for fewer years, which means Yankee fans should enjoy his 2022. I wouldn’t give what Judge seems to be asking.
As for Upton, seems like a better version of 2021 Pujols. Younger and more productive against lefties. Can play the OF so he’s not just a pinch hitter/platoon DH. He’ll land somewhere as long as he accepts a limited role.
Very well said, & I especially agree abou the higher AAV, less years. Hopefully they go no more than 4 or 5 in the offseason. I just can’t stomach their no-spending excuse again… ugh.
– How about Donaldson though, huh? I really like that acquisition, in and of itself. I’m a pro-Donaldson guy, especially for our team. He’s going to create some wins for the Yankees & create the tension needed to wake that team up, hopefully.
Make no mistake about it. I want Judge back, but there has to be reasonable guidelines. Let him test the market. If he’s serious about wanting to be a Yankee, then the two sides will find a way. If he wants a Trout deal, then we’ll have to move on.
I was a fan of the Donaldson deal. I like Gio, but Donaldson is a better player, both offensively and defensively, and he brings some edge. I always hated playing against him, so I’m happy he’s on the Yankees side now. Just stay healthy and don’t age out!
Judge will be Freeman 2.0. He will claim he wants to be a Yankee and then drag it out too long, leaving him to sign with any team that remains in the bidding, long after other teams have filled their needs. Maybe a Conforto 2.0?
One Upton comment he’s the most “hot and cold’ player I’ve ever seen. BLowe could give him a run though.
I think I’ve only seen one Padre reference. The man must be seriously damaged if the Padres are not even being thrown into the ring here.
Platoon partner for Hosmer? Cuz they aren’t wasting enough money for below ave production at 1B!
DH-only with negative defensive value at any position, extremely low batting average, doesn’t walk, strikes out a ton, but his a HR once in awhile…..sounds like a Baltimore Orioles to me.
I am all for it
Might be a good fit with the Angels who need a LF.
The Red Sox were supposedly looking for a RHH OF this past season. Boston did sign both Danny Santana and Marwin Gonzalez last season too so I wouldn’t put it past Chaim to try and recruit him. He could definitely play LF in Fenway as it doesn’t require a ton of range. He could fill in for Bradley Jr. against tough LH pitchers too. Verdugo would slide to RF. The hardest part would be finding somebody to drop from their 40-man. They are already +1 on their 40-man with Sale on the 60-day IL, so I’m not sure who they’d be willing to DFA for a 34 year old ‘has been.’ Perhaps Chaim could trade a minor leaguer on the 40-man for someone who hasn’t reached his 40-man requirements yet?
The other issue is that I’m not sure if Upton has any desire to play in Boston or on the east coast. He seems to like the west coast better so perhaps the Giants, Padres or even the Dodgers take a flier on him. The price is certainly worth the gamble for any team. If he doesn’t mind playing in the East, Boston makes a lot of sense for him. He’s still capable of hitting double digit HRs & 2B even in a part time capacity. He just can’t be an everyday player with his high strikeout / low walk numbers.
Gonzalez and Santana offered positional versatility. Neither worked out. Upton would offer a bat. It’s still productive against lefties. Not saying there isn’t a fit as this is a new year with different needs. Upton will need to accept he’s not an everyday player anymore, especially if he wants to be on a contender.
Dodgers need a RH OF bat now that Pollock is gone. Hope his splits are favorable.
The Upton brothers certainly did milk the free agent market. Momma must be proud. They are the type of players who make the MLPA look bad. Tons of money with output at less than contract value. Owners must continue with the outrageous salaries or players will cry collusion, get paid even more and continue to take advantage of, and abuse the system. Lazy people still get overpaid. Not enough real professionals in MLB like Bryce Harper.
I think a more accurate statement is that aging veterans out of their prime get overpaid compared to productive players. Upton got injured a lot and those take their toll. Look at Pujols. Super hard working, just was older and would get injured more. Rendon was great in 2020, last year he got injured and didn’t look like his normal self. Now he’s healthy and looks great. Upton had some really good hot streaks and some extremely cold streaks. I don’t think his hot streaks happened out of nowhere, you really have to work for those
I think everyone would be happier with a performance-based salary.
Justin left baseball years ago. It’s really BJ in an Angels uni
Leave Kate and The Monarch out of this
I wouldn’t mind him back in Atlanta for a month or so. Okay him in RF, Rosario in LF, and left Ozuna DH. I mean he is better then Dickerson and it’s only until Acuna gets healthy.
Upton Gurl
This is what is wrong with the MLB. Don’t get me wrong, I love the game but you have teams like the guardians and the Pirate who couldn’t do this. Rich teams can make mistakes and cut 50 million in two years to make room for other players. They can make mistakes. Smaller markets would be hamstrung by contract like this. Something has got to give.
Maybe the Orioles add him as their 2nd “splash” in addition to Matt Harvey.
Kidding aside, Upton might be a worthwhile risk for a rebuilding team. He actually had a very nice spring (.333 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .474 OBP)
Come to Paoa—Nats fan.
Rizzo has always liked him.
Every time I see an Angel transaction , first thing comes to my mind , how did they ever get Trout to sign that extension. Second thing is did no one else offer shohei 2way opportunity?
Rays were looking for a RH DH. Good chance to win a ring
If Upton doesn’t sign with a team soon it shows he’s not interested in playing any longer. It’s a shame too, he’s still young and could be productive if he wanted to be.
So are you saying that it’s possible he DOESN’T want to be productive? Ummm….
He’ll sign. He’s had moments of really good productivity and had an excellent spring. Injuries make it harder to keep those hot streaks going year-round.
I could be wrong, once again. I was about Pujols. But I just can’t see anyone signing Upton for anything more than minor league depth. And in that situation, without an injury, it’s possible Upton doesn’t see an AB this season in a major league game.
Giants will sign him and he will be an all-star again.
Sarcasm at its finest.