Kelly Johnson Traded to Blue Jays for Aaron Hill and John McDonald

Yesterday the Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks came to an agreement that saw the clubs swap second baseman.  Toronto traded Aaron Hill and fellow infielder John McDonald to the Diamondbacks for their second baseman Kelly Johnson.

Arizona, who leads the Giants by 2 games in the NL West, has had its infield depth depleted by injury this season.  The Diamondbacks saw the move as a way to give them a boost up the middle.

Hill will replace Johnson at second, and McDonald has the ability to move all over the infield.  The 36 year old has started over 20 games at shortstop, second and third base this season.

Arizona is hoping that Hill can regain his 2009 form that earned him his first and only trip to the All-Star game.  That year, Hill hit .286/.330/.499 with 36 home runs and 108 RBI’s.

Since that season, Hill’s struggled for the Blue Jays.  In 2010, Hill was only able to muster an OPS of .665 over his 138 games played, and things have only gotten worse for him this year.  Hill is currently only hitting at a clip of .225/.270/.313 with 6 home runs and 45 RBI’s.

Johnson has also struggled in 2011, especially compared to his breakout year last season for the Diamondbacks.

After signing with Arizona as a free agent before the 2010 season, Johnson was one of the club’s top offensive producers.  He was able to put up a line of .284/.370/.496 with 26 home runs and 93 runs scored.

But Johnson hasn’t been able to reproduce last year’s success in 2011, as the 29 year old has an OPS just below .700 on the season.

Both have been Major League regulars for 5 or more years now.  Johnson has shown a better ability to get on base (career .342 OBP compared to Hill’s .318 OBP).  Though Hill hit 36 home runs in 2009, Johnson also has the better career slugging percentage of the two (.442 compared to Hill’s .413).

For more on the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks, be sure to check out Jays Journal and Venom Strikes.