Toronto deal for Upton a win-win

THE BLUE Jays were not prioritizing an outfielder in trade discussions. But they saw enough physical fragility in their outfield of Michael Saunders, Kevin Pillar and Jose Bautista that they would not say no to a sweetheart deal, and the costs for San Diego’s Melvin Upton Jr. fell into that category.

The Padres were willing to take Hansel Rodriguez, a right-hander pitching in Rookie ball whom Toronto did not have listed internally among its top 30 prospects. The Padres were willing to eat all but $5 million of the $22 million Upton is owed through next season.

With that combination, the Blue Jays saw the value of adding a player who can defend all three outfield positions, run and hit for power. Upton is enjoying a renaissance season (16 homers, 20 steals) and provides a modicum of righty bat protection with Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion likely to leave as free agents after this season.

As when the Padres ate the majority of James Shields’ contract and got modest prospects back from the White Sox, they saw the value of saving some money and deepening their system as they deal out of their buildup of mistakes from the 2014-15 offseason.

They also wanted to give greater playing time to youngsters Travis Jankowski and especially Alex Dickerson as they wait for better outfield prospects Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot.