Braves trade Kelly Johnson to Mets for productive minor-league reliever
For the fifth time in his career, Kelly Johnson has been traded — and his latest transaction comes with an added sense of familiarity.
The Atlanta Braves sent Johnson, 34, to the New York Mets for the second time in as many seasons, acquiring high-strikeout minor-league reliever Akeel Morris in the process. Last season, while Atlanta wrapped up its Cooperstown festivities around John Smoltz's Hall of Fame induction, Johnson was packaged with Juan Uribe to bring back productive prospects John Gant and Rob Whalen.
The veteran utility option has watched his production fall off this season, his 11th in the majors, as he's hitting just .215/.273/.289 with one home run.
Still, the Mets lead only the Braves and Phillies in runs scored this season — a similar scenario as their 2015 season, needing to find offense to complement a dominant pitching staff — and Johnson provides a well-known, versatile commodity.
Unlike the "flyer"-type prospects the Braves acquired in their Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Grilli deals, though, the 23-year-old Morris offers real intrigue and is much, much closer to MLB-ready. The right-hander posted double-digit strikeout rates at every single minor-league stop in his career — striking out 12.79 batters per nine innings this season in Double-A — and he posted a sub-2.50 ERA in each of his past four seasons. (He's sitting with a 4.62 ERA and dealing with some command issues this year.) More from FanGraphs:
Morris will be assigned to Double-A Mississippi.
Johnson joins Chacin and Grilli as the early trade pieces for this Braves roster, and more moves could be on the horizon with the likes of Jim Johnson, Bud Norris, Alexi Ogando, Eric O'Flaherty, Chase d'Arnaud and Jeff Francoeur on low-cost contracts. (Bigger pieces such as Julio Teheran, Nick Markakis and Arodys Vizcaino have also warranted consideration around the industry.)
