The first August trade of the waiver trade deadline has been struck!
According to Joel Sherman the Atlanta Braves have agreed to ship 3rd baseman Chris Johnson to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher.
#Braves getting Bourne, Swisher and cash for Johnson to #Indians. That is the deal
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) August 7, 2015
The two sides later confirmed that 10 million will be sent to Atlanta to cover the expensive contracts of Bourn and Swisher. Braves president John Hart has done a great job of rebuilding the Braves and may have scored a premium center fielder in Michael Bourn if he can benefit from a change of scenery. Johnson and Swisher’s contract are nearly identical making Bourn a cheap get for Atlanta.
For the Indians the move makes sense if Johnson can find his stroke in the American League. Johnson hit .321 in 2013 and has been in a sharp decline since. It remains to be seen if Atlanta plans on keeping both players as they have a number of outfielders on the roster already ( Johnny Gomes, Cameron Maybin, Nick Markakis, Eury Perez). The move also allows Atlanta to call up prized Cuban prospect Hector Olivera.
