Detroit Tigers to trade Justin Upton to Los Angeles Angels for prospect Grayson Long

The Detroit Tigers have reportedly worked out a trade that will send outfielder Justin Upton to the Los Angeles Angels for RHP Grayson Long.

The Detroit Tigers have reportedly agreed to trade outfielder Justin Upton to the Los Angeles Angels. Ken Rosenthal was the first to report that a deal was in the works on Twitter.

The move comes as a relative surpise. Upton began his tenure as a Tiger as slowly as possible. He stumbled out of the gate in 2016 and pulled into the All-Star break with a .235/.289/.381 batting line. His freshly inked $132 million contract was already an albatross.

But Upton turned things around and posted a second half OPS of .916 and then carried that pace into 2017. He made the All-Star team this season and suddenly had people talking about his looming opt-out clause. Twelve months ago it looked like he’d remain in Detroit and collect his $88 million for 2018 through 2021 but a hot calendar year at the plate was all it took to revitalize his value.

Upton cleared waivers earlier this month — a sign that teams were perhaps not knocking down the door to acquire him — which would allow him to be traded to any club. He needed to be on that club’s roster by midnight tonight in order to be eligible for their postseason roster.

In the end, Upton apparently made it clear that he would be opting out of his deal. This would make him a pure rental if he truly intends to hit the free agent market (he’d probably be the top outfielder available).

We saw what the market was for rental outfielders when J.D. Martinez was traded. Upton carries more defensive value than Martinez, but the acquiring team has also lost a month of potential value. If Upton remained with the Tigers and opted out, they would have received draft pick compensation, a fact that likely set the floor in trade negotiations.

In return, the Tigers will receive right-handed pitcher Grayson Long. Long, a third-round pick in 2015, has spent the majority of the year in AA where he’s pitched 122 innings with a 2.52 ERA to go with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. MLB.com rated him as the ninth-best prospect in the (relatively thin) Angels farm system.

Long doesn’t sound like the type of player who will develop into a front-line starter, but perhaps he can crack the big leagues as a number four or number five.

Next: Detroit Tigers All-Time 25-man Roster

The Tigers have lost a seriously talented player today — the best player on the team this year — but they have gained themselves some salary flexibility in the coming years.