B.J. Upton will reportedly sign with the Braves. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

The months of speculation have come to an end.

B.J. Upton will play in Atlanta next season, as the center fielder has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Braves for a reported five years and $75 million, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.

Upton, who was also being sought after by the Philadelphia Phillies, spent his entire career with the Tampa Bay Rays. Though the deal is pending his passing a physical exam, Upton, 28, has shown little to no signs of slowly down as of late; he is the only center fielder in the MLB who has appeared in at least 144 games over the last five seasons.  Last season, he batted .246 and recorded 28 home runs and 31 stolen bases.

The Braves, who were eliminated in the wild-card playoff game, made Upton their top center-field target when it became clear that [Michael] Bourn’s demands would be too prohibitive for their budget. The Washington Nationals are now the leading contender to sign Bourn.

Upton has ranked among the top 10 center fielders in the league for home runs since 2009 (70), although he also struck out 169 times last season. The deal is not official yet because it has not been announced by the Braves.

Free agent B.J. Upton met with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Free-agent outfielder B.J. Upton was wined and dined by the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported.

From Bowman’s report:

The Braves welcomed Upton to Turner Field on Thursday to provide the talented outfielder a better sense of how much they are hoping that he chooses to play in Atlanta next year.  Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez were both present for the meeting.

Upton is one of the most sought-after free agents on the market — despite the fact that the 2012 free-agent crop is ripe with outfielders. In addition to Upton, outfielders Josh Hamilton, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Angel Pagan and Shane Victorino make up the rest of the loaded group.

The Braves could be interested in bringing back Bourn, but Bowman reports that they are keying more on Upton because he is nearly two years younger and would bring both power and speed to the lineup. Both players are expected to receive a contract in the ballpark of $15 million per season, according to Bowman.

Upton has spent his entire career with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he broke out with a huge season in 2007. Last year, he hit .246 with 28 homers, 78 RBI and a .752 OPS. He also stole 31 bases.

The Atlanta Braves had hoped to have a double-pronged free agent overhaul this offseason. Now, according to a tweet from MLB.com’s Mike Bowman, the team plans to focus all their energy on acquiring former Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton.

Braves had visions of signing both Torii Hunter and B.J. Upton. With Hunter off the board, Upton remains their top free agent target.—
Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 14, 2012

Torii Hunter came “off the board” earlier today when he signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. However, Upton would be a very big get for the Braves if they are able to meet his contract demands. The outfielder, 28, has a career .255 batting average and has stolen in the range of 30-40 bases every season since 2008.

All nine MLB free agents who received $13.3 million qualifying offers rejected them.

MLBPA: All 9 free agent players who received qualifying offers from their former clubs declined them.

—
Liz Mullen (@SBJLizMullen) November 09, 2012

everyone who received 13.3M qual offer rejected it. thats bj, bourn, kuroda, swisher, soriano, lohse, laroche, hamilton

—
Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 09, 2012

With the offers rejected and the annual general managers meetings concluded, team officials will head home for a busy month of negotiations. Baseball’s new labor contract has sped up all business season deadlines in an attempt to prompt quicker decisions.

Most of the players were expected to turn down their qualifying offers in pursuit of bigger multi-year deals. B.J. Upton is being actively pursued by the Republic, Braves, Rangers, Red Sox and Tigers, while the Orioles, Mariners and Brewers have expressed interest in Josh Hamilton.

The Upton brothers have been linked in major league history ever since they were drafted, B.J. second overall in 2002 and Justin first overall in 2005.

On Friday, the pair reached a career milestone within minutes of one another.

In Philadelphia, Arizona Diamondbacks rightfielder Justin Upton hit a solo home run to left field off Phillies righthander Kyle Kendrick in the second inning for his 100th career home run.

Not too long afterward, in Tampa, Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton hit a solo home run to center off Baltimore Orioles righty Tommy Hunter in the fourth inning for his 100th career home run.

Coincidentally, both homers also put their teams ahead 1-0.

Whitney Holtzman of MLB.com points out another coincidence:

Not only did B.J. and Justin Upton both hit their 100th career homers tonight, they also both hit No. 99 the same night.—
Whitney Holtzman (@WHoltzman) August 04, 2012

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com says that the Uptons are the sixth pair of brothers to both reach the 100-home plateau.

The final list (I think) is DiMaggios, Boones, Alomars, Boyers, Meusels and Uptons. Brothers with 100 homers each.—
Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) August 04, 2012

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder B.J. Upton, aims at returning to the field during the April 10-19 road trip to Detroit, Boston, and Toronto after suffering a back injury early in Spring Training, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

“That’s what we’re shooting for,” Upton told the Times this morning.

Upton said that he ran and threw on Sunday and felt good during a workout today. The Rays will give Upton time to rehab and see live pitching, however, before they throw him into the big league lineup.

“I wanted to be back for opening day and I think everybody as a hole was trying to get me ready for opening day, and that may have not necessarily been the thing to do in this situation,” Upton said. “So I’m glad we just let it rest and it’s getting better. That’s all we can ask for right now.”

Upton, 26, is in the final year of his contract with the Rays. Last year he hit .243/.331/.429 with 23 home runs and 36 stolen bases.