MLB Rumors: Atlanta Braves may bench BJ Upton
By Bryan Rose
When the Atlanta Braves signed B.J. Upton to a five-year, $75 million dollar deal, pundits and fans couldn’t pick their jaws up off the floor quick enough.
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A talented though rather flawed player, Upton never fulfilled his potential with the Tampa Bay Rays despite being given every chance to do so. The Braves however thought teaming him up with his brother, Justin Upton, would be beneficial to the young talent and decided to fork over a hefty contract to the then free agent.
It was an offer too good for Upton to refuse, but now the Braves are understandably having a significant amount of buyers remorse as Upton has shockingly grown into one of the worst starting players in Major League Baseball.
That may soon change though as the Braves are looking into promoting Christian Bethancourt, a move which will likely send Upton to the bench.
“Though a decision does not necessarily seem imminent, the Braves have discussed the possibility of promoting Bethancourt to serve as Atlanta’s starting catcher. If this decision were to be made, Gattis would move to left field and Justin Upton would transition to right field. To complete this equation, Jason Heyward would replace B.J. Upton in center field.”
Understandably, the Braves aren’t going to call up Bethancourt to have him sit on the bench, so B.J. Upton would be the odd man out and deservedly so.
Upton would still get some time in the outfield as he’d likely rotate for Heyward and his brother Justin, but his days of starting might be coming to an end in the very near future.