Report: Blue Jays front-runners to land Melvin Upton Jr.
The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly the leading candidate to acquire San Diego Padres outfielder Melvin Upton Jr., according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians also remain in talks for the slugger. San Diego is expected to make the call on Upton's trade destination Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
In the Padres' last two games, the 31-year-old has been a healthy scratch and it appears a trade is imminent, though it doesn't look like a deal is nearing.
As it stands, Toronto's outfielder depth chart features Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar, Michael Saunders, and Ezequiel Carrera, two lefties and two righties. Upton is right-handed, and could fill in admirably as a surplus.
Since the beginning of 2015, when he joined the Padres, Upton is batting .257/.313/.435 with 21 home runs and 29 stolen bases.
The biggest catch with Upton is what remains of his monster contract. He's owed a pro-rated salary of $15.45 million this season and his full $16.45 million for next season. A trade is essentially dependent on how much of that San Diego is willing to cover.