We've arrived upon what's becoming a wonderful annual tradition in Braves Country: The annual trading of Kelly Johnson to the Mets. When word began to leak out that the Braves and Mets were close to making a deal, the cynical side of all of us began to wonder if Kelly Johnson was involved. As it turns out, he was, and his third stint with the Braves has now been turned into a second stint with the Mets.
The Braves & Mets completed a trade today, as the Braves sent Kelly Johnson to the Mets in exchange for minor-league RHP Akeel Morris.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 8, 2016
Kelly Johnson has been underwhelming at the plate this season, as he's currently slashing .215/.273/.289 with one home run and 51 wRC+ over 132 plate appearances this season. Additionally, he hasn't been great when called upon to play in the field as well, so he's definitely taken a step back from his performance in 2015.
Meanwhile, Akeel Morris is a pretty decent pitching prospect. The 23-year-old right-hander has been pitching at the AA level for the Mets this season and currently has a 4.62 ERA and a 4.36 FIP. Our friends over at Amazin Avenue think pretty highly of him, as they ranked him the #22 prospect in the Mets' system in their Top 25 prospect rankings for 2016. Additionally, Morris does have MLB experience under his belt -- granted, it was just one relief appearance last season and he was sent right back down afterwards, but he's seen the big leagues, so that counts for something. Either way, he's a decent prospect and there's a good chance that he'll be seeing more of the bigs in the future.
Overall, the Braves did pretty well to get something of value in return for Kelly Johnson this season, and the Mets are a team that can afford to take a player like KJ and put him on the bench and hope he can produce every now and then. At a quick glance, it's a win for both teams, and the Braves have kept the baseball gods happy by doing their annual sacrifice of Kelly Johnson to the Mets.