Justin Upton trade may end up helping Twins more than Angels

[alexlegge]

On the day the Angels picked up Upton, they were exactly 1.5 games behind the Twins. Net gain since then: nothing.

 

And now, with 7 of our final 10 games left against the Tigers, consider this:

 

Justin Upton vs. Twins, 2017: .400/.513/.833 in 39 PA

 

Justin Upton with Angels, 2017: .300/.425/.600 in 73 PA

(most recent PA: pop out + slammed bat into ground, sending splinters everywhere)

 

 

We'll see how things pan out over the final week, but it would be ironic now if the Twins win a bunch of close games vs. Upton-less Tigers to clinch the 2nd WC.

 

 

 

[AlwaysinModeration]

Also of note...Verlander is 1-0 against the Angels, and has another start against them this weekend.

[jimmer]

From the how it's helped the Angels standpoint, I'm trying to understand the reasoning.  He's been awesome with the Angels and has undoubtedly helped win games they would have otherwise lost.

 

But yeah, probably good for us that JD Martinez, Verlander, and Upton are gone from Tigers.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Yeah. While the Angels haven't gained ground relative to the Twins / wild card since the trade, they have likely gained ground relative to a hypothetical Angels team that did not trade for Upton.

[Mr. Brooks]

From the how it's helped the Angels standpoint, I'm trying to understand the reasoning. He's been awesome with the Angels and has undoubtedly helped win games they would have otherwise lost.

 

But yeah, probably good for us that JD Martinez, Verlander, and Upton are gone from Tigers.

You clearly haven't considered that his most recent AB was a pop out!

[alexlegge]

Angels have only won 7 games since he joined them, though he did perform really well in those games (.363/.481/1.273). So yeah, he has helped them relative to the 'hypothetical Upton-less' Angels, even though the Angels have a worse record with him.

 

I guess the bottom line is that he's a great player and Twin-killer, Angels haven't done much since acquiring him, and now Twins can *hopefully* reap the benefits of not having to face him at the most important time of the season.

 

 

[jimmer]

 

You clearly haven't considered that his most recent AB was a pop out!

well, there's that :-)

[Old Twins Cap]

If the thesis is that the Angels robbed Peter to pay Paul, I would argue this:  Don't you think the Tigers would have traded him to some other team at the deadline anyway?

[DaveW]

Just think, with Upton the Twins might have only won by 9 tonight!