Craig Kimbrel, Melvin Upton Trade Puts Cherry on Top of Padres' Bold Offseason

The San Diego Padres just had their most eventful offseason in recent memory. With Opening Day upon us, the offseason's over. Apparently, the Friars didn't get the memo.

Less than 24 hours before kicking off the 2015 regular season against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego consummated yet another blockbuster trade, acquiring closer Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. from the Atlanta Braves, per FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniel.

In return, Atlanta gets outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin, plus top pitching prospect Matt Wisler, minor league outfielder Jordan Paroubeck and the 41st pick in the June draft, per McDaniel, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal (who also first reported the draft pick) and Fox Sports' Jon Morosi. 

Kimbrel is the biggest piece—at least until we know what Wisler can do—and his arrival elevates the Padres' already solid bullpen to next-level dominance, as FanGraphs' David Cameron notes:

Almost unarguably the best closer in the game, Kimbrel has led the National League in saves in each of the last four seasons. He's made four All-Star teams over the same span and has twice finished in the top five in NL Cy Young balloting.

“It was a hard thing to do," Braves president of baseball operations John Hart said of dealing Kimbrel, via David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "He was just a consummate professional. This is a guy, you want him to be your son, you want him to marry your daughter. He's just an outstanding young man."

Last year's line was typical for the 26-year-old fireballer: 1.61 ERA, 0.908 WHIP, 47 saves, 95 strikeouts and 61.2 innings pitched. With Joaquin Benoit sliding into the setup role, the Padres could play a lot of seven-inning games.

The Upton formerly known as B.J. will reunite with his younger brother in San Diego. The Padres acquired the other Upton, Justin, from Atlanta in December.

The elder Upton hit just .208 last season and is owed $46 million over the next three seasons. So he represents less a surefire upgrade for the Padres and more of a necessary concession to acquire Kimbrel. (Some of that salary will be offset by the $8 million Quentin is owed next season; the Braves, as CBS' Jon Heyman notes, plan to designate the outfielder for assignment.)

David Goldman/Associated Press

Then again, San Diego isn't expecting Melvin Upton to shoulder the offensive load. Its outfield is already set with his sibling, plus fellow winter pickups Matt Kemp and Wil Myers. 

Add catcher Derek Norris and third baseman Will Middlebrooks, both trade acquisitions, and Opening Day starter James Shields, signed as a free agent, and two-thirds of the team that trots out between the lines on Monday could be the result of San Diego's incredibly active winter.

The credit (or blame, if the whole experiment goes south) belongs to general manager A.J. Preller, who took over last season and has already staked a reputation as one of the boldest executives in the game.

"They've been aggressive,'' Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman told USA Today's Bob Nightengale in December. "When A.J. got hired, I think the expectation was they would get aggressive. And they have."

After this latest move, Friedman might have to reach for his thesaurus. "Aggressive" feels like an understatement.

CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa likes that word, and he digs Preller's style:

"

[His] aggressiveness is refreshing. Too many teams are content to sit back and preach patience. Wait for the future, the future will be better. When you have nothing else to offer, offer the future and lower expectations for the present. Lots of teams do it and it's widely accepted. The future is whatever you want it to be.

"

Of course, it all still has to play out on the field. There are serious question marks in San Diego, including a potentially punchless infield, shaky outfield defense and the matter of how well the offensive cavalry will adjust to the pitchers' paradise that is Petco Park.

For now, one thing's clear: These Pads aren't messing around. They intend to be players in the NL West and to jostle with the free-spending Dodgers and defending champion San Francisco Giants.

If you thought the offseason was eventful, just wait for the main event.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.