B.J. Upton now Melvin Upton Jr.

Atlanta Bravesoutfielder B.J. Upton, after slumping to career-worst seasons in 2013 and 2014, will no doubt be searching down many avenues for designs on a resurrection in 2015.

Among those will be a name change back to Melvin Upton Jr.

Upton will use his birth name this season after long going byB.J., short for Bossman -- his father, Manny's, nickname -- Junior, according to various reports.

MLB.com confirmed the change through Upton's representatives.

Upton is entering the third year of a five-year, $75 million deal with Atlanta, the biggest free-agent contract in Braves history.

He endured a nightmarish 2013 season, in which he hit only .184, struck out in more than one-third of his at-bats and was benched. This past season, Upton hit just .208 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs.

The speedy center fielder will be three seasons removed from his last with theTampa Bay Rays, in which he belted a career-high 28 home runs while batting.246. He has a career .243 average.

Miami MarlinssluggerGiancarlo Stantonimproved his game markedly afterchanging his name from Mike Stanton in 2012, having batted .261 combined over the 2010 and '11 seasons.

Over the past three seasons, Stanton is averaging .277 with a .549 slugging percentage, up from .525 over the previous two seasons.

It won't be easy for Upton, who ranked among the lowest of everyday MLB players last season in several statistical categories. His .208 batting average was 146th out of 147 qualifying players, his OPS of .620 was 141st and his strikeout percentage of 29.7 was 144th.

Information from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.