New York Mets Strike a Deal for Kelly Johnson

The New York Mets are adding a familiar face to the fold as the team reunites with utility man Kelly Johnson, whom they traded for last season. But what type of impact will he have on the team this time around?

The Atlanta Braves have traded Kelly Johnson to the New York Mets. No this is not 2015; the Braves have once again dealt the 34 year-old to the Mets, except this time around the move comes in June and not July.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com on Twitter, the deal will send Johnson to New Yok in exchange for minor league right hander Akeel Morris.

Kelly Johnson was identified as a prime trade candidate being a veteran player on a team with one of the worst records in the major leagues. But what can the 11 year veteran bring to a club like the Mets?

At the time New York traded for Johnson last year, he was hitting for a solid .275 batting average and showed decent power having hit nine home runs in 62 games. Johnson became a good role player on a surging Mets squad in the second half as he hit .250 and added five long balls for the team. He also was valuable in the field as he played six different positions during his time in New York, which is extremely helpful to any National League ball club. But 2016 has been not as kind to the utility player.

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Through 49 games this season, Johnson is only batting .215 and has only hit one homer. He’s also been much shakier in the field committing six errors at second base thus far. He only had two errors all year last season while at second.

However, even with a drop off in his play, the Mets will definitely be able to utilize Johnson as they battle the Nationals for first place in the NL East. Johnson saw most of his time at second base last year, even with Daniel Murphy around. Now with Neil Walker firmly entrenched at the spot in 2016, Johnson will most likely continue to just be a pinch hitter and a versatile bench player for the club. He may even split time with Wilmer Flores at third base, even though he is not considered to be as strong of a fielder at the hot corner. Not many bench players have the track record like Johnson’s, so that will certainly be an asset for the 2015 National League champs.

On the other side of the deal, Atlanta looks like they have come away with a fairly solid prospect for their veteran infielder. Akeel Morris is a 23 year-old relief pitcher down at Double-A, who has been producing great numbers over the past few years in the minor leagues.

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Morris has finished the 2013-2015 seasons with ERA’s of 1.00, 0.63 and 2.05, respectively. And even though he has not been as productive this year, Morris has swing and miss stuff and could potentially be a solid piece in the Braves bullpen sooner rather than later.

This is the second year in a row that Atlanta has been able to turn aging veteran players on one-year deals into pretty solid minor league ballplayers.

The Mets might have slightly overpaid for Johnson considering that he is not producing at the rate he was last year, but he will be a formidable bench piece for the club and they will have him for over a month longer than they did in 2015. This move may just be the start of an aggressive trade deadline for both Atlanta and the New York Mets.

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What do you think of Johnson going back to Queens? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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