Angels' Upton: 'Teams don't value players as people anymore'

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Justin Upton is speaking out about what he believes is a far more significant problem than a slow offseason.

"Teams don't value players as people anymore. They value them as a number on a sheet of paper," Upton said, according to The Athletic's Pedro Moura.

"Basically, they have a stat sheet, and it says, 'This is that guy.' He's a robot, he's not a person, he's just a player. They don't value him as a person anymore. You can have two offers from two teams and sometimes the separator is how the team is perceived in your eyes. At this point, they don't care how they're perceived: 'This is our money. If you want it, you can have it.'"

Shortly after the World Series, Upton opted out of his contract but quickly signed a five-year, $106-million deal with the Angels. In addition to feeling comfortable in Los Angeles, he admits his decision had a lot to do with what he considers a concerning trend for free agents that he experienced firsthand in 2016 before signing a six-year deal with the Detroit Tigers.

"Every team wants you at their price. I'll say this, and I don't give a f--- if you write it or not: I had a stretch in free agency where, within a week, every team called and offered me a one-year deal. After eight years of pretty good baseball. In my mind, that's really, really, really sketchy and weird."

Upton also feels front offices are easily influenced by sabermetrics, and no longer try to convince free agents to sign with their respective organizations. Prior to his deal with the Tigers, he added, interested teams would call and try to bargain by telling him he wasn't good defensively.

"That's how players should feel about this," he said. "When you carry yourself in the clubhouse, just know that the people upstairs see you as a statistic. You're a stat sheet, and you can possibly produce this."

With spring training underway, several big-name free agents, including Jake Arrieta, Mike Moustakas, Greg Holland, and Alex Cobb, remain unsigned.