The temptation to sign a power hitting base stealer was overwhelming and the Atlanta Braves stepped up with a 5 year $72.5 million contract. The most Upton had been paid was one season at slightly more than $7 million. Now he would make almost $15 million a year for five years.
The results were almost immediately disastrous. In his first year, Upton batted .184, hit 9 home runs, stole 12 bases but still managed to strike out 151 times at a staggering rate of 33.9%.
The Braves gave Upton one more year to make things work out. He hit .205 with 12 home runs. He did steal 20 bases but struck out 173 times.
The Braves gave up and traded him to the Padres in 2015. Striking out almost 30% of the time and batting barely over .250 the Padres traded Upton and his contract to the Blue Jays.
He finished 2016 batting .196 with the Blue Jays. In Spring Training of 2017, the Blue Jays released Upton. He tried to get on the major league rosters of the Giants and Indians but failed. His major league career was over.
B.J. Upton played 4 of the 5 years of his contract. He had a batting averages in those years were .184, .208, .259 and .196. He struck out almost 30% of the time. The Braves, Padres and finally Blue Jays paid the $72.5 million for these results.
