Molony's Latest: Red Sox, Kelly Johnson

Aubrey Huff's available. But it'll cost ya!

Sign K-Loft before its tooo lateeee

johnson is kind of an intriguing player, i'm curious as to what braves fans think of him and his potential down the line.
I wonder what it would take to acquire him this off season.

I think the Pirates should look into Kelly Johnson he should be relativly cheap and he is young. Sanchez is going to be 30 and they can trade him and Jack Wilson and get some decent talent. Johnson steps in at second and get a young SS in the Wilson trade and then we have what we want a youthful lineup with no one over 27.

Kelly is definitely an intriguing player, and as a Braves fan who has watched nearly every AB he has had over the last 2 years I am still not quite sure what to think of him. He can be an unbelievable good hitter with power for 10-15 games at a time but then suddenly he becomes a strikeout waiting to happen for 15-20 games and then seemingly performs this Jekyll and Hyde act throughout the course of the season. Last year he showed great promise and I was sure he would blossom in the form of consistency with 15-20 hr this year. That has not been the case but I would still be reluctant to give him up in a trade unless it has some decent young pitching in it. I feel Kelly still has pretty decent upside and is already an upgrade over the average 2B offensively.

What would the Braves want for KJ? Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Trading Devine looks really bad for the Braves now.

Braves should trade Prado and keep KJ IMO. Prado is the better player (so far), but Prado could also net a MUCH
better bounty in pitching...

I think the question would be what could Kelly Johnson with at least a decent lineup surrounding him. I'd like to see the Cards go get him.

Could Kelly Johnson play SS?

Would the Braves trade Johnson to in division to the Mets? I would give the Braves two prospects for him.

I think the Cards will look into him. Weren't there rumors about them asking about KJ before the deadline?

I thought for sure Johnson was going to hit around 20hrs this year and be a very solid producer for the braves. I still think he has the ability to do so and would like to give him one more season and bat him 6th in the lineup. IF the braves do look to trade him it is def going to be for SP, and i think they could make a package with Johnson to get a solid SP this offseason

Just looking over the braves depth chart it seems as they're a little short in the outfield.

Are the braves calling it quits for 09 or do they think they have a shot at the post season?

Kelly's pitches per PA is down to 3.8 from 4.1 2005 and 2007. That might explain the decreased walk rate and higher strikeout rate. Maybe he's trying to be more aggressive, but chasing pitches he can't handle. His LD% is a nice 23.4% compared to 18.8% last year, but his BABIP is down at .314. So partially he's getting unlucky and partially he doesn't have the same approach. With Pendleton's reputation of swinging away and Cox treating KJ like a red headed step child, he's probably frustrated in Atlanta anyway.

Trading Devine was a bad idea when it happened. No reason to trade for an old, injured CF who's lost a step for a reliever with closer potential. Especially when you already traded for a stopgap CF.

No, Prado is NOT better than Kelly Johson. Prado is hitting hot right now and Kelly is slumping, but Prado is not a better hitter than Kelly Johnson. Prado can't even OPS .750 in the minors. What makes you think he can do .800+ in the majors?

I know Arroyo would freak out to be traded back to the Sox, any rumors on that?

Victor-- Maybe not better in terms of power and offensive capabilities, but better for his utility capabilities. He'd have more suitors from teams trying to improve in 3B/SS, and as there is more competition, he could net more in terms of pitching help.

Chris- Is Jon Niese one of those two prospects?

Jon Niese? Nah.

How about, Argenis Reyes and Dillon Gee.

mitchell boggs, luke gregerson and jon jay from the cardinals for kelly

I'd like to see the Braves package Kelly Johnson and Brandon Jones and try to acquire Huston Street to become a setup man for Mike Gonzalez in 2009. Street has struggled this year, and meanwhile Joey Devine clearly looks like he's ready to take over as a closer on the rebuilding A's. Kelly Johnson is exactly the kind of player Billy Beane covets; a very very patient hitter who takes a lot of pitches and ergo, draws a ton of walks, while still possessing some pop, and a position with very few strong hitters. Kelly's obviously gotten a bit away from that this year as he's tried to be a bit more aggressive, but his 2007 season really showed what he's capable of. I think Street for Kelly and B. Jones is a good trade for both sides, as Mark Ellis is really struggling in Oakland, and Brandon Jones might be able to return to form in a new organization.

vt_Brady2705- I'm an A's fan, and the Braves would be getting absolutely fleeced in that trade.

1. Street is in his 2nd year of arbi in '09. With his past tenure as a closer, he should get a decent raise over the 3MM he gets this year. Unless the A's sign him and then flip him to the Braves.

2. Brandon Jones, albeit his struggles, is still a decent prospect. If KJ and Jones are packaged, there better be starting pitching involved. You do not give up two of your best trade chips without filling major needs on the club.

I guess I overvalued Street a bit. After all, the Phillies got Brad Lidge for only what, Michael Bourn? Perhaps KJ and B. Jones would work for Street and Vincent Mazzarro.

Wow. The Braves are going to trade Kelly Johnson and start Martin "17 homeruns in my entire professional career" Prado or Omar "career .305 OBP" Infante?

No wonder they're near the bottom of the NL. The Braves GM is an idiot.

KJ came up as a SS, and I don't know if he could play the position again. He had TJ surgery a couple of years ago and I can't tell whether his arm is strong enough to return to the position.

What I can say is that he often looks uncomfortable at 2B even if his stats look OK. He double-clutches more than his share of throws and fails to cleanly field plenty of routine grounders.

The question is, can he hit well enough to be a LF on a good team? He's plenty good enough to play LF for this team. But it's not a good team.

If he can attract equal value in return, he almost has to be dealt because they're so thin in the OF and the rotation.