Outfield depth
Blue Jays get Upton Jr. from Padres
TORONTO The Toronto Blue Jays added some outfield depth for the stretch drive Tuesday by acquiring Melvin Upton Jr. from the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitching prospect Hansel Rodriguez.
Upton is batting .256 this season with 16 home runs, 45 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He sat out San Diego’s past two games, including Monday’s 4-2 loss to Toronto at Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays, who also received cash from San Diego, confirmed the deal in a news release. The teams continued their interleague series Tuesday evening.
Upton, 31, had a .304 on-base percentage and a .439 slugging percentage in 92 games for San Diego. He was in his second season with the Padres.
He joins an outfield mix in Toronto that includes regular starters Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar and Michael Saunders. Ezequiel Carrera has served as the primary backup outfielder.
Bautista and Saunders are in the final year of their respective contracts. Upton, meanwhile, is in the fourth year of a US$75.25million, five-year deal he signed with the Atlanta Braves before the 2013 season.
Upton will earn $16.45 million next season. He was selected by Tampa Bay with the second overall pick in the 2002 draft and made his big-league debut with the Rays in 2004.
“Im excited to join my new @BlueJays teammates today and can’t wait to help continue the winning tradition that’s been built here. #letsgo,” Upton said on Twitter.
The Blue Jays are in the thick of the playoff race in the American League East.
The defending division champions entered play Tuesday with a 56-44 record, three games behind the 58-40 Baltimore Orioles.
The Boston Red Sox are 21/2 games behind the Orioles at 55-42. The Red Sox and Blue Jays currently hold the two American League wild-card spots.
The struggling Padres are looking to the future. San Diego took a 43-57 mark into Tuesday’s game.
The 19-year-old Rodriguez is in his third season with Bluefield in the Rookie level Appalachian League. He’s 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in six starts.
Rodriguez was originally signed by Toronto as an international free agent in January 2014 out of the Dominican Republic.
He made his pro debut in the Blue Jays organization that season.
Over parts of three minorleague seasons with the Blue Jays, he has a 3-6 record with a 4.61 earned-run average.