Kelly Johnson-Ryan Ludwick Rumor

msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8756808/Burnett-opts-out-of-deal,-will-become-free-agent

Burnett opts out, probably worth a post.

Well, there's your outfield slugger, Atlanta. But:

1. Ludwick is 30. Is he a late bloomer or a fluke?
2. Is Ludwick intended for RF?? If so, where's Francouer going?
3. I love Kelly Johnson.

Also, Chris Carpenter just had surgery today...same one Albert Pujols had last month...

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/BCAB64342B022790862574F70079A4C3?OpenDocument

I don't know. The Braves need an outfielder badly, but why not sign one via free agency? I really don't want to see Martin Prado or Omar Infante out there everyday.

I agree with scribble.

Ludwick hit 37 HRs - seriously, how many actual "flukes" do that? Not many. He has become a very legitimate hitter. Ludwick can be the offensive stud when Chipper gets hurt, while Kelly Johnson is a spark at the top of the lineup, they have Escobar to do that. If Francouer and Ludwick are in the OF, you're pitchers are only going to be helped with their incredible arms...

I like this deal for the Braves...Cards are filling a hole via trade, open up the OF for Ankiel, Schumaker and Rasmus, and can spend their offseason money on a free agent pitcher.

I don't know if I like this rumor.

This trade makes sense for both teams, but if I was the Cardinals I would want a low tier pitching prospect added.

As a Cardinal fan I am highly opposed to this trade. You just don't deal .966 of OPS on a team-friendly contract or, if you do, you have way more leverage than that. I like Johnson a lot, but I would take the chance that Ludwick is not just a fluke this year.

This would be an awesome trade for both sides. Contracts are about equal. If the braves pulled that they would have tons money for other stuff.

GeneralManager,

So Ludwick hits in between Chipper and McCann. Sounds like a fearsome middle of the order to me.

GM,

Chipper isn't that much worse...

Registereduser,

Are you sniffing glue?

A Schumacher/Kennedy/Thompson package could barely net you one of our prospects let alone Kelly Johnson...

This would be close to a straight up arb player for arb player basically trading weakness (OF) for weakness (2b)...thats all thats being said at the time...

I could see something like this happening though as the Cards have coveted Kelly for 2+ years now and the Braves really need that right handed power OF bat.

Why not keep him if this is the best you can get, even at .770 OPS he's probably worth the arb rates until 2012

Why do so many people think Ludwick isn't a fluke? He has one good year and he's almost 30..Why not sell high and get a good 2b, something you really need.

general manager- Ludwick hit almost identical HR/AB hitting 2nd in front of Pujols and 4th behind Pujols. He played twice as many games hitting 4th as he did hitting 2nd.

The Cards wouldn't make this deal unless ATL sweetened the deal...

You clearly did not understand that GM,

I know that Pujols is the best hitter and most feared in baseball...but do you really think Ludwick would really drop off just because someone as bad as Chipper, as you imply is hitting behind him? I don't think so.

If Ludwick were a Brave, he would probably give you .280/.365/.500, 30 HRs. Plenty of production, at least better than Kelly.

Johnson will be a .800 OPS 2B in the upcoming years, and probably for a while - how many 2B's can do that?

I think that Ludwick will be the better hitter over the next few years, but from the Braves standpoint, they can't make this deal.

Showtime35,

There's no guarantee the Braves can get any of the FAs without overpaying. And much as I like Maggs, the Tigers may still be smarting from the deal they made with Atlanta last year for Renteria and won't trade with Wren a second time so soon.

Prado/Lillibridge/Infante will provide adequate production at 2B. Ludwick will fill the LF hole. If the Braves can make this deal, they should.

No. But thanks for playing our game.

I love Kelly Johnson.

well one of the things i remember from this season is that when Albert was out for a short time they moved Ludwick into his spot in the lineup and asked him to carry the load. needless to say without Albert the offense suffered. im not knocking Ludwick its more of a compliment to Albert, but if he were to be traded to ATL and the aging Chipper were to go down with an injury dont expect great things.

I am very split on this rumor. I love the thought and would be excited if the Braves somehow got Ludwick in this trade and also spent money on Ibanez, that way if Frenchy does have another bad year, we are still ok, plus it would give us the option to let Schafer mature a bit more in AAA for one more year. But my problem is the perception. Given Ludwick has had injury issues, I thikn the Card's might be trying to sell high.

As far as a comparison I think the trade is equal. Perhaps, with a slight edge to Ludwick. But one must remember production of each player in perspective. Kelly's offense was in the top third of all 2nd basemen if not higher even though he is only serviceable defensively. But Ludwick is only a bit above middle of the pack in production from an outfield perspective. In fact he had an almost identical year to the aforementioned Ibanez with a bit more power, and Ibanez only made 5.5 mil last year I believe. Considering both are arb eligible and under team control for 3 years each, the fact that Kelly is three years younger is a huge component of this deal. Kelly has a lot more time to get better then Ludwick who in 3 years will already be considered a senior member in the league.

33 is not old, but it is in baseball. I like this trade as a fan because I am extremely confident in the ability of Prado or Infante to be more than an adequate everyday replacement for Kelly but if I were a GM this would look awful fishy to me. Plus, for the Braves fans out there....keep in mind this is not in a vacuum...trading KJ to the Cards will seriously diminish the possibility of completeing a trade for Peavy (assuming on happens) that does not include Yunel, which would be an absolute deal breaker for me.

BTID

The only reason Chipper won that title over Pujols was he sat out the rest of the season.

Kelly Johnson had the 7th ranked OPS amongst second basemen and Ludwick had the 6th highest in the entire ML. Also Johnson regressed this year. I would do this deal in a second if I were Atlanta.

Why is it that every time anyone talks about Ludwick..they seem to think his year was a fluke…An unproven commodity…and injury-prone? I just wish someone would tell me what it takes to break out of stereotypes.

This past season WAS his breakout year–that much I will give you. But he has shown the ability to put up these types of numbers the past three years. In 2006 in Toledo, where he got stuck in a logjam behind outfielders that caught fire in Detroit, he played a full season batting .266 with 28 HR and 80 RBI in 508 AB. More of the same in 2007, as he hit .286 with 22 HR and 88 RBI in 409 AB (Most of that in STL.). Then the so-called BREAKOUT season in 2008, batting .299 with 37 HR and 113 RBI in 538 AB.

And he wasn’t just valuable with the bat.

His glove was just as valuable for the team, and although he doesn’t have Ankiel’s arm strength, he did have 12 assists and only two errors this past season while logging time at all three OF positions.

And as far as protection for Albert goes…If Ludwick isn’t in the lineup behind him, his average is probably 30-35 points lower because of even MORE limited opportunities.

How about everyone just finally giving up and quit over-analyzing the guy..and just admit that the organization did a great job of scouting…picked up a guy who busted his ass and was FINALLY healthy after some bad luck during his career…and give him the credit he deserves for hard work and perserverence?

He is healthy, driven and should be considered a key component of any type of rebuilding the Cards do over the next few years.

Is he going to an All-Star every year? Probably not. A lot of that had not only to do with his numbers, but also the fact that he had a great storyline.

But it IS time to give the guy his due and stop talking about what he can’t do. Because honestly, the time has come for him to get the respect he has worked his entire career for.

It just seems to me at some point Cardinal fans ought to just be happy they have a guy that is a class act and could put up these types of numbers for the Redbirds for the next 5-6 years.

If you are a Cardinals fan...you shouldn't want any part of this deal. If you root for the Braves, you should be BEGGING for this deal. Luddy would hit 40+ HR's a year in Atlanta.

if im the Cards id move Ankiel before Ludwick. Ankiels in the last year of his deal and is a Boras clinet. Boras right now is saying Jason Varitek deserves Jorge Posada money. who knows what hell say Ankiel should get.

Land-Man, you DO know Pujols was injured ALL year, right? As in every game of it? Dude could hit .380 if healthy.

Chipper Jones took a 400 batting average into the beginning of his season-long injury problems. Chipper had something like 69 hits in his first 150 at-bats.

Good comparison, gr81poison.
Ludwick has potential. A lot of it. but the Braves have too many injury prone players. I would much rather have a Ibanez, Swisher, Ordonez, or Abreu.

cwilli, Johnson showed a lot more gap power this year(which is where his power is) and cut back on k's in more ABs. It's kind of absurb to say he regressed because his eye was slightly worse. I expect next year to be his breakout year where ever his ends up.

No way the Cardinals should do this deal. There are some good free agents out there that could play second base. Johnson is not good enough to get straightup for Ludwick. Now, if the Braves offer more for Ludwick, then maybe. Go McCain!!!!

Pujols hasn't been healthy, either. The difference is Pujols plays through the pain, where unfortunately, Chipper's injuries have been too much for him to bear. The difference is healthy Pujols in his prime vs a healthy, aging Chipper; sorry, but I'll take the NL MVP any day of the week. Not to say Chipper is anything but a tremendous Hall of Famer, but Pujols is, simply put, the greatest player of this era.

"The difference is Pujols plays through the pain, where unfortunately, Chipper's injuries have been too much for him to bear."

What a bunch of crap. Pujols is clearly the best offensive force in baseball, my original post was just pointing out that Chipper is still an elite hitter. Like you know anything about the relative pain levels or tolerance of Chip vs. Pujols. It just bugs me that people suggest he's 'sitting it out' to win a batting title.

David O'brian said on the AJC site that the rumor of Johnson of Ludwick was shot down by the Cards. The Braves are interested in Ludwick but dont plan on giving up Johnson. This was what he said..

"You in the KJ camp apparently needn’t worry about him going to St. Louis for Ludwick. The Kelly part of that equation was shot down by someone on the St. Louis side. However, the Braves are interested in Ludwick. Ankiel, I’m not as sure about, but I think they’ve discuss him with the Cards, too."

So the Braves are looking at Ludwick, but it probably wont he Johnson traded.

anyone know what kind of salary we would assume with Ludwick. I like the idea of the trade especially if we have the additional funds to go after someone like Ibanez. Then we have three outfielders with the potential of 20 plus homers, and if Francour has another bad year then we have Schaffer ready to step in and take the place of Francour