High Hopes & Disastrous Results: B.J. Upton (5 YEARS - $72.5 MILLION)
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. They signed B.J. Upton. In 2012, Upton stole 31 bases, hit 28 home runs, and batted .246. The most he had been paid was one season at slightly more than $7 million. Starting in 2013 he would make almost $15 million a year for five years.
The results were almost immediately disastrous. B.J. Upton became a poor hitter with no power who stuck out at an embaassingly high rate.
In his first year, Upton batted .184, hit 9 home runs, stole 12 bases. He 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 horrible results. This is a great example of a SwingBadder Contract.
