The Atlanta Braves have traded both Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to division rival New York Mets. The Braves will receive minor league righties Rob Whalen and John Gant. New York will take on the remaining $2.7 million salary of the Uribe and Johnson.
Both Uribe and Johnson will provide depth to a bench that has struggled this season, and provide support at third base until David Wright returns.
The 36-year-old Uribe was great in an Atlanta uniform hitting a slash of .285/.353/.464 with 7 homers and 17 RBIs in 167 plate appearances.
Johnson, 33, has also had a nice season hitting .275/.321/.451 with nine homers and 34 RBIs in 197 plate appearances. The Mets will be the eighth different team that Johnson has played on in his 11 year career.
Whalen is the better of the two prospects that Atlanta will receive. We ranked him as the number 12 prospect in the Mets organization in the preseason. The 21-year-old 2012 12th round pick has an ERA of 3.36 in 83 innings in Class A-Advanced this season.
Gant, 22, was a 21st in 2011 draft and has been good in both Class A-Advanced and Double-A, posting an ERA of 3.52 in 99 2/3 innings. Both pitchers look like future relief pitchers in our eyes.
This is a great move for both sides as the Braves saw that Uribe and Johnson were at their highest trade value and received two decent prospects in return. While the Mets added much needed offensive talent.
