Fantasy react: Braves trade Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton Jr. to Padres
The Padres were among the busiest teams in the offseason, so it makes perfect sense San Diego swung a major trade hours before the first pitch of the 2015 season to land Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton Jr. from the Atlanta Braves.
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San Diego sent outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin along with two minor leaguers and the 41st pick in the upcoming draft to get the deal done.
The immediate fantasy impact comes in the bullpens for both clubs. Kimbrel obviously becomes the closer in San Diego, which should boost his stock on a better team and being in a friendlier park. Joaquin Benoit, who was set to close, takes a hit to his value.
While trading one of the game's best closers in the middle of a rebuild makes sense for Atlanta, sorting out the bullpen is a bit of a wait-and-see situation. Jason Grilli appears to be the first in line to take over the ninth inning but Jim Johnson could also be part of the mix.
I'm guessing Jason Grilli before Jim Johnson in Atlanta, but I don't run their lousy team. I'm also in Benoit mourning.
— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) April 5, 2015
Jason Grilli’s camp: 8-6-2-2-0-11. Small sample, but that’s as good as you could hope for.
— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) April 5, 2015
Baseball is back. Act accordingly, gamers.
