Braves trade Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton to Padres

Jorge L. Ortiz | USA TODAY

The Atlanta Braves finally found a taker for Melvin Upton's onerous contract, but it came at the expense of the game's premier closer.

In a stunning trade the day before the baseball season opens in full, the Braves sent four-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel – who led the National League in saves each of the last four seasons – along with Upton to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin.

San Diego also sent minor-league pitcher Matt Wisler, minor-league outfielder Jordan Paroubeck and the 41st overall pick in the June draft to Atlanta

The move represents a major boost for the Padres' already-deep bullpen, allowing them to shift veteran Joaquin Benoit from closer to his more familiar setup role.

Kimbrel, 26, averaged 46 saves, 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.51 ERA over the last four seasons. He signed a four-year extension worth $42 million in February 2014 and is under contract (including a club option) through 2018.

"We saw an opportunity to acquire somebody who is arguably the best or one of the best at what he does in the game,'' Padres general manager A.J. Preller said, "and take a strength in the bullpen and try to continue to improve it and improve the club.''

San Diego also cleared some of the logjam in its revamped outfield, where Quentin and Maybin had become superfluous after a busy offseason that netted the club Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Upton's younger brother, Justin Upton.

After four consecutive losing seasons, the Padres have overhauled the roster under Preller and look poised to make a run at the favored Los Angeles Dodgers for NL West supremacy. Besides upgrading the offense with the new outfield and catcher Derek Norris, San Diego signed free agent starter James Shields to head a rotation that also includes Andrew Cashner, All-Star Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy.

Melvin Upton, previously known as B.J., gives the Padres a true center fielder, albeit one who figures to play mostly as a defensive replacement or subbing in for an injured starter once he comes back from a left-foot ailment, likely in May.

Upton is owed $46 million in the final three years of a $75 million contract that had become an albatross in Atlanta, where he batted .198 with a .593 OPS in two miserable seasons, both spent alongside his much-more productive brother.

"We looked at the deal as a whole,'' Preller said about taking on that kind of financial burden. "There are players going back to the Braves that also make money, so that ended up lessening the commitment somewhat. We factored in the total value that we get player-wise, what it could do to our club, some areas that it could help shore us up in, some areas that it can continue to give us depth in. And moving some money commitments as well.''

Quentin, who waived his no-trade clause, is due to make $8 million this season, the final year in his contract. Reports out of Atlanta indicate the club likely will designate him for assignment. Maybin – a former starting center fielder relegated to the bench the last two seasons – is owed $16 million through 2016.

With an eye on 2017, when they will open a new ballpark in suburban Atlanta, the Braves have been shedding salary and reconfiguring their roster. They will feature a brand-new outfield this season after trading both Uptons and homegrown right fielder Jason Heyward, dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in November. Like Justin Upton, Heyward is due to become a free agent at the end of the season.

"This was a difficult trade to make from a personal standpoint,'' Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said. "From a professional standpoint, we continue to be consistent in our plan, where we're going and what we needed to do to get there.''

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