The Braves were in the middle of their teardown in the 2014-2015 offseason when they decided to deal one of their most valuable players: Justin Upton. Upton had one year remaining until free agency, and after trading Jason Heyward, they decided to go all the way and deal off Upton as well. This would pave the way for the eventual trades of Melvin Upton Jr.,
But the Justin deal would be the trade with the biggest prospect haul, as they weren’t looking to shed payroll (Kimbrel/M. Upton), nor were they looking to get back an established player (like Shelby Miller), or even a stopgap (Cameron Maybin).