San Diego Padres Trade Rumors: Plans to Acquire Justin Upton

The San Diego Padres are very much interested in adding another star outfielder to their lineup. According to Mark Bowman with MLB.com, the Padres, who recently acquired Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers, have plans to trade for Justin Upton.

The Padres are in a desperate need to bulk up their offense. In 2014, the team was last in the league with only 535 runs scored. Although trading for Kemp will certainly boost their offense, adding another star player, like Upton, could make the Padres even stronger.

Upton finished last season with the Atlanta Braves batting .270/.342/.491 with 29 homeruns and 102 RBI over 154 games. Getting Upton, however, can be tricky.

Adam Wells with Bleacher Report writes:

"Upton is more of a gamble than Kemp for the Padres if they are able to strike a deal...It's asking a lot for the Padres to give up what they would have to in prospects for Upton and hope that they could find a way to re-sign him so that he's not just a one-and-done."

Other teams that are reportedly interested in Upton include the Kansas City Royals, the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers.

The Braves will most likely trade Upton this offseason since they acquired free agent outfielder Nick Markakis. Rumors are that the Braves are looking for quite a lot in an Upton trade.

"The Braves are essentially in a rebuild posture, and dealing both of their star corner outfielders only would further the sense they are trying to position themselves to be a strong team again when they move into a new ballpark in 2017," Joel Sherman with the New York Post wrote late last month.

Upton will make $14.5 million next season and enter free agency at the end of the year.