Conor Jackson's trade to Oakland may be the first of several moves in what could be a big shake-up in Arizona. The only remaining question is what other players will soon be leaving the desert. Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter) hears from a source that moving second baseman Kelly Johnson may be next on the list for Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes. Tony Abreu's activation from the disabled list today could be the first step towards Abreu taking over at second base should Johnson be on the move.
Johnson has put up an All-Star caliber slash line this season (.282/.383/.546) and seems to be heating up again after posting a .769 OPS in May. His contract is reasonable enough for any contending team to take on — a one-year, $2.35MM contract signed last December after he was non-tendered by Atlanta. Johnson would be a major upgrade over, for instance, Skip Schumaker in St. Louis, Luis Castillo in New York or Clint Barmes in Colorado.
He COULD be the next one traded… It would certainy make sense.
METS PLEASEEE
What would you trade for him?
why would you want this guy on the mets if your a mets fan?? he had a great start, his numbers are already dropping.
Isn’t Johnson still going to be under team control since he has less than 6 years of service time? If the D-backs are aware of this, then I don’t think they will deal him unless Tony Abreu can take over for him in a suitable fashion.
But, I don’t think they necessarily want to blow the team up. I mean, had it not been for their bullpen, that’s quite a few wins they have lost, as well as major contributors like Upton and Reynolds slumping, as well as Montero and Webb missing time. If you can possibly fix most of those issues, and bring back Webb in some shape or form then I think that they have a quality team that can win that tough division.
Yep – he is under control for 2011 as wel – im sure thatwould be factored into what should be gotten in return.
Well, my point is, if Abreu can hit (Which I think they are trying to ascertain right now by DHing him), then Johnson can be dealt, but I don’t think you deal him yet until you are absolutely sure of that. To be honest, I have no idea if he is hitting well or not, you would have to ask a D-backs fan.
He can hit. Esp at shortstop – where the need for offense isnt as great.
Johnson’s value probably won’t be higher than it is right now, I doubt the D’backs consider themselves contenders next season. They would best be served to rebuild, imo.
Well, I think that they do, and I also think that they can be, despite the tough division. They might have to gamble on a few things, like resigning Webb, to contend, but if their main core of Upton and Reynolds start hitting, that’s a pretty dangerous offense.
Also, consider that Haren is having one of his worst pitching slides in recent memory. If you have him corrected, as well as Webb returning to something close to what he was, and Kennedy continuing to be a good piece, you may have a pretty good team.
But, this all depends on quite a few things, and to be fairly honest, I am not even sure if some of them are possible, mainly Webb’s pitching capability.
Exactly, in order for the D’backs to be competitive, quite a few things need to go right, and even assuming that Upton and Reynolds start hitting, and Haren’s numbers go back to normal, it will still be tough for them next season.
Or, you could go the glass half full route, and say that a few things that shouldn’t go wrong won’t go wrong, like Haren having good peripherals but still getting lit up, or Upton losing all plate discipline.
Webb, however, is the key piece, without him, they are an above average team, but with him, they have a fantastic rotation and are a dangerous team in the playoffs.
I’d really like it for Webb if he was able to rebuild his value during the 2nd half of the season, I’ve just always been a personal fan of his.
I hope that we trade Snyder first, we need to get some players for him and move his contract. Although, I’m starting to like Kelly Johnson, I wouldn’t doubt they trade him soon, but when they do, they need to make sure Abreu is ready to take over second base. Also, when we also trade LaRoche, we need to get ourselves at least a couple of B prospects. But I wouldn’t mind for them to stick around, and hopefully we would have them next year, and possibly contend.
I wouldnt expect much in return for Snyder, or Laroche for that matter.
If Webb returns this year – we might see a decent return in a trade there.
By the way – i think Abreu is Drews replacement at short when HE is traded, i think Ryal might be OK at 2B for a while in a rebuilding effort. He is showing he can hit major league pitching – reminds me of a young casey blake.
Trading Drew would be really stupid. He’s a good hitter and plays good defense. The only thing not to like about him is he’s a Boras client, so he could get expensive in a few years.
Ryal and parra will probably platoon in left and ryal will replace Laroche at 1st
Well – those reasons you list would be the reasons he might bring something good back in return. As you eluded to -Drew is going to be very expensive soon – so if you can plug abreu in there for league minimum, and get somthing good back in return – its not that dumb.
I think Ryal can play 2B. I think his bat would play better there.
You forgot about Brandon Allen down in the minors. The Dbacks view him as the First Baseman of the future.
Also, I doubt that the Cardinals would necessarily deal with a 2b without at least giving Felipe Lopez the starting job. The dude has been a very good lead-off hitter this year when healthy, and has been adequate defensively.
Right. Johnson may be an upgrade over Schumaker, but not necessarily Lopez who seems to be playing everyday at 2b or ss.
Plus, Brendan Ryan has seemed to figure out his batting troubles the past few games. If he can sustain that, he has the starting job, and Lopez can have 2b.
If he can play some 3b he’d be a good pickup for the Yankees as Arod insurance at 3b so Arod could DH and protect the hip. He’d get close to full time at bats with the Yankees and his power would play well at the new stadium.
Why is that when I first read the headline I saw “…the next D-Bag to be traded”?
I don’t see Johnson as a “major upgrade” over Clint Barmes mostly because Johnson would likely still slot as the 8 hole hitter in the Colorado lineup. Sure the avg type numbers would go up, but an increase in OBP and the like isn’t going to help much for the hitter in front of the pitcher.
A “major upgrade” for the Rockies would be to get someone like Dan Uggla who despite the bad fielding would slot in the 5 or 6 hole in the Rockies lineup thereby sliding everyone after 5 down.
Basically, I can’t call swapping an 8 hole for an 8 hole a “major upgrade”.
Take a look at Johnson’s splits: .321 with a 1.167 OPS at home, .235 with a .708 OPS on the road. He’s taking advantage of Chase Field. I don’t see him putting up strong number in Citi or Busch. Coors, maybe. And, possibly some other hitter’s park that favors long balls for lefties like Yankee Stadium. But, he struggled at Turner last year and continues to struggle on the road this year.