Sabersphere 1/25: Justin Upton Trade and Predicting How Players Will Adjust to New Minor League Levels

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs breaks down the Upton-trade: Braves Acquire Justin Upton

The Diamondbacks have traded Justin Upton again. This time, he’s actually going away. After he rejected a deal to Seattle, they’ve found a new trade partner in the Atlanta Braves, and have crafted a pretty interesting deal that isn’t at all similar to the one they previously tried to make.

Keith Law of ESPN Insider analyzes the Justin Upton deal($): Arizona didn't get enough for Upton

The Atlanta Braves didn't specifically need Justin Upton to be playoff contenders again in 2013, but having him certainly helps. Because they got him for about 50 cents on the dollar, they should be over the moon about the deal they wrapped up Thursday, which restores what they lost with Michael Bourn's departure and sets them up well for the two years that follow as well.

Jonah Keri of Grantland takes a look at the trade:Why No One Is Declaring Arizona the Winner of the Justin Upton Trade

The Atlanta Braves acquired Justin Upton from the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday, sending away five players and also the timid approach to roster building that had limited the Braves to not-quite-good-enough status in recent years.

For the rest of SBNation's coverage on the Justin Upton trade, visit the stream.

Athletic's Nation user "King Richard" looks at some ways to identify if a player can handle a level: Predicting the Future — How Can We Know How Players Will Adjust to the Next Level?

The offseason is a long and arduous journey of self-discovery, something of a yearly walkabout during which each of us must ask ourselves: what can we do with an extra 3 hours each day? For some, the answer is surely that if you cannot be watching baseball, at least you can use that extra time to study baseball.

Today's BtB Retro is an article written by Peter Bendix about Upton in 2008: Justin Upton Must Love Arizona (8/29/08)

The Diamondbacks are getting ready to activate Justin Upton from the disabled list. Even though he's only 20 years old, Upton has put up a solid line of .242/.353/.433 with 11 homers in 329 plate appearances. However, his home/road splits are rather shocking.