In a blockbuster trade on the eve of Opening Day, the revamped San Diego Padres acquired closer Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. from the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Atlanta received outfielders Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin and two minor-leaguers, right-handed pitcher Matt Wisler and outfielder Jordan Paroubeck.
Both teams shed unwanted contracts in the deal, but the prize was Kimbrel, who led the National League in saves each of the past four years.
Kimbrel, 26, was the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year, and he was an All-Star in each of his full major league seasons. Last year, he went 47-for-51 on save chances and posted a 1.61 ERA. He finished in the top 10 in NL Cy Young Award voting for the fourth year running.
Kimbrel is entering the second year of a four-year, $42 million deal that will pay him $9 million this year, $11 million next year and $13 in 2017. The club holds a $13 million option for 2018 with a $1 million buyout.
Upton, 30, was a flop since signing a five-year, $75.25 million deal with Atlanta in November 2012. In two seasons with the Braves, he batted a combined .198 with a .279 on-base percentage, a .314 slugging percentage, 21 homers and 61 RBIs.
He still has three years and $46.35 million left on his contract, huge money for a player who figures to ride the bench in San Diego. He will be reteamed with his brother, Justin Upton, who was traded from the Braves to the Padres in November.
San Diego sent Atlanta a pair of outfielders who were no longer in the everyday plans. Maybin and Quentin were displaced in San Diego thanks to the arrival of an all-new outfield: Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp.
Quentin, 32, has played no more than 86 games in each of the past three years due to a variety of injuries. Last year, he batted .177/.284.315 with four homers and 18 RBIs in 50 games.
Quentin is owed $8 million in 2015, the last year of a three-year, $27 million contract that includes a $10 mutual option for 2016.
Maybin, 28, batted .235/.290/.331 with one homer and 15 RBIs in 95 games last year. He also drew a 25-game suspension last season for the use of what he maintained was merely an unapproved drug to treat attention deficit disorder.
Maybin is owed $7 million this year and $8 next year as part of a five-year, $25 million contract that includes a $9 million club option or a $1 million buyout for 2017.
Wisler, 22, was rated the game’s 34th-best prospect by Baseball America heading into the 2015 season. He went a combined 10-5 with a 4.42 ERA over a combined 28 starts last year in Double-A and Triple-A.
Paroubeck, 20, was a second-round draft pick in 2014 out of Serra High in San Mateo, Calif., alma mater of Barry Bonds and Tom Brady. He played 34 games last year in the rookie-level Arizona League and hit .286/.346/.457 with four homers and 24 RBIs.