TORONTO _ The Padres continued their summer sell-off on Tuesday, trading outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. to the Toronto Blue Jays for right-handed pitching prospect Hansel Rodriguez and cash. San Diego will pay all but $5 million of the roughly $22.5 million left on Upton's contract.
With the Padres still in Toronto for their first-ever series here, Upton will head to the other side of Rogers Centre in general manager A.J. Preller's latest veteran-for-prospect exchange. Rodriguez, 19, went 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA in six starts this season for the rookie-level Bluefield Blue Jays. He was rated Toronto's No. 18 prospect by MLB.com.
A source said the Padres had the option of choosing between Rodriguez and another Blue Jays prospect.
"It's been a few weeks in the making, sizing up the market for Upton," Preller said. "Obviously, he's played well here all year and played well especially the last month or two, which led to some other clubs having interest. Ultimately, it came down to two or three teams that were serious. The Blue Jays stayed on it. We looked at a few prospects and scouted their system pretty heavily and were able to come to an agreement we felt was the best fit for us."
Rodriguez was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2014 for $330,000. The 6-foot-2 righty, who will report to short-season Tri-City, has a fastball that has touched 98 mph and a potentially average slider and change-up.
"We talked about a lot of guys in a bunch of different scenarios," Preller said. "We saw two guys (Blue Jays pitching prospects Francisco Rios and Angel Perdomo) in the Futures Game. With Rodriguez, our scouts liked what they saw there. He's had a couple outings where he's gone seven innings, 92 to 95 with the fastball, a good body, he flashes a secondary. Ultimately, he separated himself from the pack for our group."
Upton, who was acquired two Aprils ago alongside closer Craig Kimbrel, has revived a previously flatlining career. After falling well short of expectations with the Atlanta Braves, the 31-year-old surpassed them in San Diego, hitting .256 this season with 16 home runs and 20 steals. Primarily a left fielder this year, Upton has recorded nine Defensive Runs Saved at the position.
"Probably when we acquired him last year, the reputation he had and his overall value in the game quite frankly wasn't what it had been," Preller said. "But I think over the course of really the whole year, there were more teams that started seeing the fact that he's a good player, a guy who can impact the game with his bat, his legs and his glove."
Upton is owed the remaining balance of $15.45 million this season and will make $16.45 million in 2017, the final year of his contract. The Padres were willing to eat a significant part of that contract, and interest climbed as Upton continued his strong play. In recent days, the Padres also had discussed the outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. Baltimore was considered the favorite at one point, but when the two sides could not reach an agreement, the Padres pivoted to the Blue Jays.
Preller called the motivation behind the trade "three-pronged." The Padres believed they had added another high-upside arm to a rejuvenated farm system; gained some financial flexibility by shedding a portion of Upton's contract; and opened up everyday playing time for young outfielders Alex Dickerson and Travis Jankowski. Two of the organization's top prospects, Triple-A El Paso outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Manuel Margot, also will be given a look in the near future, though likely not immediately.
"We want to get through the week and (the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline), and at that point in time, we would re-evaluate," Preller said of Renfroe and Margot. "My guess is we're probably going to look more at the traditional September call-up. But honestly, we'll know a little more after we get past (Aug. 1)."
With center fielder Jon Jay on the disabled list, Jankowski and Dickerson have received regular playing time over the last month. Jankowski is hitting .231 with two home runs, but the 25-year-old also has stolen 26 bases and displayed excellent defense in center. Dickerson, a 26-year-old left fielder, is batting .280 with four home runs. The Poway High product had three hits in each of the last two games, homering in both.
"One of the biggest things over the next two months is, we'll be able to see what Dickerson and Jankowski can do, and I think we'll get a better feel going into next year," Preller said.
Upton will be the fourth player traded by the rebuilding Padres since early June. The exodus began with right-hander James Shields and had continued with reliever Fernando Rodney and left-hander Drew Pomeranz. The Padres also absorbed money in trading Shields to the Chicago White Sox for right-hander Erik Johnson and teenage shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis. If Shields does not opt out of his contract after this season, San Diego will wind up covering about $31 million of the $58 million left on his deal.
"Quite frankly, at this point in time it's not like we've broken up a championship club," Preller said. "We haven't gotten to where we want to get to, and we're going to look at some other guys and see if they can help us get there."
Remaining trade candidates include right-hander Andrew Cashner, who is scheduled to start Tuesday night in Toronto, and catcher Derek Norris. The Blue Jays also have shown interest in Cashner. Multiple other teams have been in pursuit of the 29-year-old.
While the soon-to-be free agent seems all but guaranteed to go, Preller said he had been focusing on the Upton trade this week and expected the pitcher to make Tuesday's start.
"There's definitely interest, but we think he's a really good major league starting pitcher," Preller said. "We're going to want to get back value for him, and if that's not there, we think he's going to be in our rotation every five (days)."
The Padres did not immediately make a corresponding roster move after Upton's exit Tuesday. Being in another country presented a momentary challenge.
"Canada factors into getting in and out of the country," Preller said. "I've been talking to (Padres manager Andy Green) this morning about which direction we'll go. It's probably going to be a work in process until we get out of Canada."
