B.J. Upton and the future of center field

The Braves are finally contemplating trading B. J. Upton. Of course they are. They shouldn’t have signed him in the first place.

You folks have heard my Upton soapbox before, but let me remind y’all again of the guys the Bravos could have signed instead of B.J. Upton.

Guys who would have been cheaper, and who would have contributed much more.

Denard Span, Dexter Fowler, Michael Bourn and Shane Victorino were some of the folks who were up for grabs at the time the Braves got Upton.

When the Braves signed Upton, he was a lifetime .248 hitter who struck out, on average, 160 times a year.

On top of this, his defense was below average. Common sense tells you not to sign this type of player to the largest contract in Braves franchise history.

But, Frank Wren signed him because of his potential, and I almost had a heart attack.

Now we’re dealing with the effects of such a bad decision. Did I think signing B. J. Upton was a bad idea? Well, yes.

But, did I think his numbers would be THIS bad or close to this bad. No.

The Braves are implying they are going to try and trade him this off-season.

They actually just tried to unload Upton onto the poor Cubs to get Edwin Jackson in return. The Cubs didn’t take the bait, because their GM is smart.

I think Wren is thinking about this all wrong. Nobody in their right mind is going to give up any sort of talent to acquire just B.J. Upton and his contract or even just part of his contract.

So, if Wren is dead serious about getting him gone, then he’ll package him with someone else. Or he’ll release him Uggla style.

In the meantime, if the Braves are dead serious about getting back into contention for the playoffs, they will bench Upton immediately.

He is a liability and going into the month of September, he is still hitting just .204 for the season.

Sit him and start Emilio, who can at least produce more at the plate and can provide the team a lead-off role.

Speaking of the lead-off role, did I mention that since joining the Twins, Jordan Schafer, who has been given a chance to start every day in a lead-off role, is hitting .325 with 9 stolen bases and 18 hits? I digress.

The signing of Upton certainly burned my mitt, but thank God the Braves are finally contemplating his exit. So, what does the future have in store for the Braves at centerfield?

I have a strange theory. I don’t think Kyle Wren is near ready for the majors, and I don’t see the Braves signing a big time centerfielder. Well, they could. We’ll see.

I think Jose Peraza makes the most sense as the Braves’ future centerfielder.

If you read my columns, you’ve heard me speculate about this. I’m well aware it sounds crazy. If you’ve seen Peraza play and you’ve seen his speed and athleticism, you can envision him playing centerfield.

Peraza was drafted as a shortstop, but Andrelton ain’t going nowhere.

So, they shifted Peraza to second base last year. But, Atlanta has La Stella manning second, and I think he’s doing just fine there.

Then there is the notion Chris Johnson could be traded, transitioning La Stella to third, allowing Peraza to claim the throne at second.

I don’t see this happening either. To me, Peraza makes the most sense to be the Braves centerfielder in 2015.

Regardless, let’s hope the Braves sit Upton soon and trade him this off season. The children of Braves Country deserve something better.