When news broke that the Padres had traded Melvin Upton Jr. to the Blue Jays, everyone rushed to be the first to point out the obvious: The Padres were playing in Toronto, meaning all Upton Jr. had to do was switch dugouts. It's classic baseball-y humor.

Except that wasn't the case. Instead, Upton had to travel roughly three hours in a car to secure his work visa and return to Rogers Centre before he could change dugouts for good, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Such is the unenviable life of a traded ballplayer.

Upton's long day ended with a pinch-hit appearance against his former team, where he reached on a fielder's choice. For his part, the new Blue Jay sounds like he can't wait to settle in to his new home.

"Rarely do you see (a trade) happen in the same series," Upton told the Union-Tribune before Tuesday's game. "As professionals, we know anything is a possibility. Luckily, it's only for two days and we don't have to play (the Padres) again."

Upton, who spent a long time in the AL East as a member of the Rays, had a career .277/.354/.437 line in Toronto heading into Tuesday night.