SATURDAY: The Indians will send closer to $15MM, not $10MM, to the Braves, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince tweets. Swisher and Bourn are owed about $38MM combined for the remainder of their contracts, while Johnson is owed about $19.5MM, so it appears the Indians will save between $3MM and $4MM total on the deal.
FRIDAY: The Braves and Indians have announced a swap of three bad contracts that will send Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn and cash considerations (reportedly about $10MM) to the Braves in exchange for third baseman Chris Johnson.
Both Swisher and Bourn are in the third season of significant four-year pacts ($56MM and $48MM, respectively). Swisher is owed $15MM in 2016, whereas Bourn is owed $14MM next season. Both players have 2017 vesting options, but neither figures to accrue the necessary 550 plate appearances in 2016 to trigger the additional year.
Johnson’s contract calls for him to earn $19.5MM through the end of the 2017 season, so the roughly $10MM included by the Indians will balance out the money on the two contracts.
In this week’s MLBTR Newsletter, I examined the possibility of a Johnson-for-Bourn swap. This expanded iteration of the deal, in essence, boils down to a swap of bad contracts that will allow the Braves to free up some money in 2017 (when they reportedly plan to push for contention in their new stadium, SunTrust Park) and give Cleveland more immediate roster flexibility at the cost of paying some of the remaining salary up front.
Swisher, 34, underwent arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees last August in an effort to correct pain that had caused a rapid decline in his production at the plate. However, Swisher has followed up a .208/.278/.331 campaign in 2014 with a .198/.261/.297 batting line in 30 games this season. Inflammation in his left knee has again landed Swisher on the disabled list, though he was on a rehab assignment at the time of the deal. The Braves’ key motivation in making this deal is to move around some finances, but they’d undoubtedly be pleased if Swisher were able to return to anything resembling the form he showed in 2006-13, when he batted .257/.362/.464 and averaged 26 homers per season.
Though Swisher is on the disabled list, MLBTR has confirmed that players on the disabled list can be sent through revocable trade waivers if their minimum period of inactivity has passed and if they’re healthy and able to play at their accustomed level. Because Swisher has been on the 15-day for more than 15 days and is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A, he was eligible to go on waivers.
Bourn, 32, has seen a similar downturn in his production since signing in Cleveland, as he’s batted just .257/.315/.345 in 1388 plate appearances. Like Swisher, he’s been hampered by injuries, though his have primarily been of the hamstring variety. Bourn underwent surgery on his left hamstring in 2014 and has been sidelined by a strain in that same hamstring this season. The leg injuries have significantly slowed him down, as he’s swiped just 46 bases in 331 games with Cleveland after stealing 42 in his final season before free agency. (A season that he, coincidentally, spent with the Braves.)
As for Johnson, he signed a three-year, $23.5MM contract prior to the 2014 season. Then 29 years old, Johnson was coming off a career year in which he batted .321/.358/.457 with 12 homers. However, much of that production was the result of a .394 batting average on balls in play, and his overall numbers have come back down to Earth as his BABIP regressed to his career norm.
Over the past two seasons, Johnson has batted .257/.288/.352. He’ll probably get a fair chance at playing time in Cleveland, though, as Lonnie Chisenhall has been moved to the outfield after struggling again in 2015, and rookie Giovanny Urshela hasn’t hit much in his debut. Cleveland is lacking in MLB-ready options at the hot corner, so Johnson could find semi-regular at-bats and a chance at redemption. If nothing else, he’s proven to be a useful platoon bat over the course of his career; Johnson is a .313/.349/.439 hitter in 692 plate appearances versus lefties.
Yahoo’s Tim Brown first reported (via Twitter) that Swisher was about to head to Atlanta. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that an agreement was in place. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Bourn and cash considerations would round out the deal (Twitter links). Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted the financial details on the swap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Either Chris Johnson is involved, or its another Arroyo type deal.
Love watching Hart wheel and deal
He is slowly cleaning up the mess. Butt this trade is my bad contract for your 2 bad contracts, and we make the money the same.
Brilliant. Can’t wait to see what the Braves get as a reward for taking Swisher.
The reward is getting rid of Chris Johnson.
Yes now they have two bad players instead of just the one. Upside I guess is the money will equal out with what the Indians sent over. It’s like getting two bad players for the price of one.
yeah but all that money is off the books in 2017 which is when they plan to compete. Makes sense.
Doesn’t really make sense for either side unless they were freeing up a spot for a player that was blocked. I guess you could say it makes some sense for the Indians because they lose one bad player who won’t be taking up a roster spot. But it’s hard to see it making much sense from the Braves perspective, unless they are hoping for a rebound from Swisher and/or Bourn or are deliberately trying to lose.
I think it’s the blockage you mention that makes this make sense. With Olivera coming and the others picking up 3B right now, there’s no need for Chris Johnson, even if he could rebound. But if Bourn or Swisher can become marginally productive, we do need some OF depth.
All players involved have little hope of showing production, but Swisher/Bourn are closer to showing production if they can stay healthy for any length of time, rather than Chris Johnson, who doesn’t produce and doesn’t struggle to stay healthy. He just can’t hit consistently, provides bad defense, not a great attitude. Good riddance.
Two Bad Players. HELLO! What about Gomes, Terdo, Aardsma, etc, etc, etc.
It’s all about the salary relief in 2017. Also, isn’t Aardsma a pitcher? He doesn’t do much in the OF.
Terdo is horrible. He needs to catch the release train
They are taking on Bourn’s contract too? If it is just for Johnson’s contract, then the Braves got hosed.
Yea, agree. Very curious as to full details.
Like the trade for both teams.
I will tell you, John Hart is a wheeler and dealer.
If this thing holds up, this will be the 3rd different Johnson (Kelly, Jim) the Braves have traded away in about three weeks. They are officially Johnson-less now
dont tell their wives
Tee hee i see what you did there
Jon heyman just tweeted that “a lot” of money is going to Braves as well..
yeah they took on 15 mil more in salary so maybe 10 mil?
wonder how much cash, because the braves are taking on about an extra 15 mil in this.
I imagine enough to cover a large portion of Bourne’s contract
Cook, is that you?
Thank god. Bourn should have never left. Had Wren been patient we would have had him for 30 million less than Melvin. Nick has bad knees. So w/e
sorry didn’t mean to reply to your comment hah.
Where is Bourn going to play? Maybin to LF?
Honestly, just throw him in center every other day and left the other days. It’s August, we’re not going anywhere. Let him get some solid AB. We sit back and see what happens
He will ride the bench, be a late innings defensive replacement and pinch run, because that’s about all he’s good for these days. Once his legs left, he really became a zero-tool guy.
Yeah, that’s not how that would have worked like, at all.
hahahahah. As an Indians fan, this is awesome. Two of our biggest contracts on the roster were going to guys that havent hit their weight combined.
So the Indians are giving up a marginal, but somewhat not-terrible outfielder, a completely terrible outfielder and taking on more cash than both are owed, in exchange for a replacement level 3B? i dont see what the Indians gain other than an extra roster spot.
Huh?
When the insurance money on Swisher is factored in, I’d guess it’ll be an even exchange of bad contracts.
They speed up the payroll space. They can now go get a real OF (or two) to go with Brantley in 2016.
Yes!! Chris Johnson is out of here!!
How is this a good deal for the Braves, they trade one Chris Johnson for two Chris Johnson’s ? I mean all of the players involved are washed up and over payed. I think Cleveland is laughing to the bank on this one. Trade two bad contracts for one bad contract. (I know they are sending cash to Atlanta but still…)
bourn looks like he might be salvageable. at worst hes a solid 4th of.
I guess you have higher hopes on him than me. I am a tribe fan and had to watch him the past couple seasons, it wasn’t fun. (I’m really biased though)
I’m with you. IMO, Bourn’s defense was passable, his arm was weak, and his basepath aggressiveness was sorely lacking.
His aggressiveness is gone because his speed is.
The kicker for the Braves is that they won’t have to pay CJ’s contract in 2017. Swisher & Bourn are Free Agents after 2016 (barring 550 PA’s from either that would vest their 2017 option), whereas CJ is signed THROUGH 2017 (plus 1M buyout from 2018 contract).
Besides, they might as well salvage that amount of money with two stop-gap players instead of one. Also, who knows if Hart will deal them in the next year if they prove useful.
Exactly, this year is a wash. But next year we save the $$ for CJ.
Hart aiming for a contender in the new park in 2017.
The indians are still paying two bad contracts though. The Braves get two players with one bad contract. Indians are basically paying all of Bourns deal.
Braves basically got Bourn for nothing. Will be interesting see what they do with Swisher…hopefully he is better in clubhouse than johnson
It won’t matter because Swisher will spend more time on rehab assignments in the minors than in the clubhouse in the majors.
Talking more for 2016.
I know. But unless his knees heal — about which I’m quite pessimistic — then 2016 may mirror 2015. He had his surgery last August and he’s had 101 MLB ABs this year (versus the low-400s of MLB’s leaders). I wish him well, but from a Cleveland perspective, it’s been immensely frustrating to see a “large” contract spend time anywhere but in the lineup he was supposed to help transform.
Very possible, and with knees, i would agree. But we shall see. I think he will perform upto par with Chris Johnsons numbers. And who knows how Bourn will perform. Heck, watch neither of them make the 2016 roster…lol
Swisher had operations on both knees this past offseason. That is crazy. He cannot plant when hitting or run. He is pretty much washed up and someone is getting the insurance money..
Just depends on what a team likes in their clubhouse. With Swisher you get a non-stop motor mouth who hot dogs most of the time. That can be annoying when the guy strikes out 60% of the time.
The real reward here for the Braves (Besides obviously getting rid of Chris Johnson) is both Bourn and Swishers contracts are up after 2016 unless they get 550 PA’s next year…which I would assume Atlanta will not let happen. Chris Johnson’s contract was guaranteed through 2017. I think Atlanta will gladly pay 5 million for this swap
Great deal for the Braves. 2016 was a long shot for them anyways so no real harm on taking some junk salary that year. 2017 it looks like the Braves will have no bad contracts on the books after moving johnson, which means they can spend heavy to pair up with their growing farm system. Braves could be a real threat in 2017.
True, but they way the NL East has performed this year. Who is to say next year is a long shot? Especially with these young players getting in work now.
Though WSH is losing a lot presumably in FA after the end of the year, they should be able to reload with their farm system. Will be interesting to see how Stras will turn out, if he’s trade deadline bait or if he gets an extension. I think it’s NYM’s to lose for 2016, but MIA could surprise.
Miami won’t be doing anything.
Exactly. It’s sort of like the Braves are paying all of Chris Johnson’s remaining salary in 2016. Lots of money available for 2017.
Not sure I get this. Johnson is guaranteed around $19.25M for the remainder of the deal. Swisher, guaranteed around $19.75M and Bourn, about $18.25M. Wouldn’t it have been better to just release Johnson, when after pro-rated minimum salaries through 2017 would mean you’re saving another $1.1M+?
Are you factoring in the $10m (or so) that’s coming to Atlanta from CLE? Braves would have still been on the hook for Johnson’s salary, even if they cut him.
This way, they get 2 players for 1 and a cost of approx $6m. Even if both of them are solid bench options, that’s pretty decent.
Tribe are “re-booting” Like the Tigers, 🙂
The only difference is the Tigers traded good players hah.
Tigers also got a lot of good players.
Ill take that i guess, although i always thought bourn was overrrated
I just hope that humanity is spared from a future Carray & Swisher broadcast team.
Braves broadcasts are awful now. Swisher would say ‘awesome’ a lot.
I remember all those Braves telecasts when I was a kid in the 80’s…team was atrocious and Skip and Pete were monotone… They’d just not talk for an inning and there’d be 700 people there in September… You could hear individual concession guys walking the stands and yelling…”peanuts!”…individual fans yelling
Oh, they were yelling “peanuts”…man, I swear I heard something else. Makes more sense your way.
So who are the free agents to be in the offseason before 2017? With the cap-room we’ll have and money coming in, who are we going after? We’ll need a power LF bat and probably another true ACE type pitcher if we don’t get one this year. This team is really interesting.
I like Hart, he has a plan and sticks to it.
A bunch of old guys mostly. Hitters include Bautista, Encarnacion, Carlos Santana, Justin Turner, Bruce, Morales. Pitchers: Cashner, Gio Gonzalez, Matt Moore, Strasburg, Volquez. Papelbon, Chapman and Storen from the pen.
I still wouldnt expect the Braves to be heavily involved in the 2016-17 FA class. I would look for more trades and International Free Agents.
I think the Braves will be buyers at the 2016 deadline. Hart has accumulated enough prospects to put packages together.
Cap-room? I think you got the wrong sport buddy.
no the Braves have a salary cap. They can’t just spend money, they have a cap of money to stick with.
garbage in, garbage out
Basically traded a dumpster of trash for a couple trashcans snd hope one isn’t filled up to the lid.
LOL
I’m not familiar with Chris Johnson at all, why do Brave fans hate him ? He is not that far removed from a decent season.
Below average defender. and then got overpaid after that good season. He was .280 career hitter before the good season but hasnt shown anything since. Think some people hated his contract more than him
Because he had one decent season during which his advanced stats suggest he was incredibly lucky, and for the rest of his career he has been below-average with the bat and in the field. He may bounce back from this years’ performance, but he’s unlikely to ever repeat 2013.
all 3 are terrible
It would be hilarious if both teams just released all 3 players – once their current contracts end they aren’t getting work anywhere in America anytime soon.
It would not be hilarious, it would be the realistic.
Hart might think there is a chance that one of the 2 might have a better chance of having a good year next year.
Well, i think he is thinking there is a change that at least one of them can perform up to Chris Johnson standards.
I think he can handle the money in 2016 as he now has a lot of low paid prospects migrating onto the roster. This will open up the budget for 2017 when they move into the new park.
Classic GM moves since John came back to MLB.
Or a better chance to deal them then Johnson. Both unlikely to reach the required PA for their options to kick in, all they need to do is prove healthy and they can eat half of whatever salary remains of each and they would have some sort of market.
You never know this may work out for the Bravos and if it doesn’t, machs nichs.
Nick Swisher: -0.2 WAR over his last 272 games
Michael Bourn: 2.1 WAR over his last 331 games
Chris Johnson: 2.3 WAR over his last 354 games
Possibly the 3 most overpaid and useless players in the game. This deal is great for that reason alone!
nick swisher’s wife is like +5 war though so winning. #joanna garcia
Is there a trade that Braves fans won’t slobber over? Now they have 2 useless players instead of one, and now they’re going to have to DFA somebody. Silly swap.
Oh yes, the narrative that Hart is cleaning up some ridiculous mess… This is a team that won the NL East in 2013 with one of the youngest average aged rosters in MLB. This is the same Hart that was brought in to be an advisor to oversee the extensions when they extended everyone including Chris Johnson… If you say he’s cleaning up a mess, you’re basically making it sound as if he traded guys that nobody else would want. As if other GM’s wouldn’t want Heyward, Justin Upton, Alex Wood, Kimbrel, etc. Getting rid of Melvin was nice, but by taking on Bourn, they’re basically paying the same money for a guy who is essentially just as bad, the difference being Bourn has a vesting option after 2016. I just don’t see how he’s doing some amazing job because when they move one overpaid and underperforming guy, they take on others with deals just as bad.
Braves already have eury Perez and Gomes in lf and maybin in cf. So it would be interesting to see how the roster plays out for swisher and Bourn. Maybe swisher is off the dl and plays 1st until freeman comes back with Bourn in lf by sending down Perez.
Seems like a very sad trade.