The moves John Hart and the Atlanta Braves front office have made since last offseason have all been directed towards the opening of SunTrust Park in 2017, and the move made today justifies that.
Braves acquire OF Nick Swisher (@NickSwisher), OF Michael Bourn and cash considerations from Indians in exchange for IF Chris Johnson
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 7, 2015
The main purpose of this deal is both teams gaining financial flexibility, Cleveland for 2016 and Atlanta for 2017.
Swisher owed $15M and Bourn $14M in 2016. Johnson owed $7.5M in '16 and $9M in '17. With ~$10M going to Atlanta, it amounts to a cash swap.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 7, 2015
Nick Swisher was not what the Indians expected him to be when they signed him to a 4-year, $65 million contract before the 2013 season. After becoming one of the leaders in Cleveland’s 2013 playoff push, 2014 proved to be the worst season of his career, where he posted career lows in games played (97), batting average (.208) and home runs (9), while producing a .608 OPS. He was shut down in August after operations on both of his knees. He has only played 30 games in 2015 to a line of .198/.261/.297 and had been rehabbing for at Triple-A Columbus before the trade.
Michael Bourn was another big money, free-agent signing for Cleveland that didn’t result in much success. Bourn hit .263 with a .676 OPS in 2013 after signing a 4-year, $48 million contract prior to the season, but his numbers have fallen since then, hitting .246/.313/.294 this season. This is a homecoming of sorts for Bourn, who played for Atlanta from 2011-12. Those two years wearing a Braves uniform were the best of his career. Slashing .275/.341/.381, he made the NL All-Star team in 2012, finishing in the Top 20 in MVP voting.
Chris Johnson had an up-and-down stint with the Braves. Johnson was acquired with Justin Upton from the Diamondbacks after the 2012 season and enjoyed a breakout season in 2013, hitting .321 with 12 home runs and 68 RBI. His average was 2nd in the National League behind Michael Cuddyer. After the 2013 season, ex-Braves General Manager Frank Wren signed Johnson to a 3-year, $23.5 million extension and since then has regressed, producing a career-high strikeout total in 2014 and hitting only .235/.272/.320 this season.
Trade rumors for Chris Johnson have been mentioned since John Hart became President of Baseball Operation last October, prompting Johnson to mention to Braves beat writer Mark Bowman in mid-July that he was hoping for a trade. Hart has been trying to rid the team of players given contracts through former GM Wren, from Dan Uggla to Melvin Upton Jr., as Atlanta plans to reboot the franchise for the opening of SunTrust Park in 2017.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported in mid-July that a deal was in place between the Braves and Indians involving Swisher and Johnson, but that Atlanta backed off due to Swisher’s salary.
#Braves backed off due to disparity in 2015 salaries (Swisher $15M, Johnson $6M). Swisher now owed ~$22M thru 16, Johnson ~$20M thru 17.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 12, 2015
The trade frees up money for Atlanta for 2017, with Chris Johnson’s $9 million coming off the books and Swisher and Bourn’s contracts ending in 2016. The $10 million received from the Indians along with Swisher and Bourn offsets the financial commitments between the three players. Even though some doubt Swisher will be able to stay healthy long enough to ever become a productive player in the majors again and Bourn also declining each season since he signed his contract, the Braves saw this as the best case scenario to lose Johnson’s contract, which they have been trying to rid themselves of for over a year. Cleveland, as a small-market franchise, had to pull the trigger on this deal to be able to dump two players who are making a lot of money and providing little to no value. This is a win-win for both teams, not in value of the players on the field, but in financial flexibility toward future seasons.
