No, this is not a repost from a year ago. Once again, the Braves have managed to trade utilityman Kelly Johnson to the New York Mets for a talented minor league arm. Last year the haul was John Gant and Rob Whalen. This time around the team got Akeel Morris. This is a pretty shocking return when considering how badly Kelly has struggled. However, the Mets have lost many infielders, including David Wright, to injury and Johnson offers some familiarity.
Morris is a right-handed reliever who MLB.com considers to be the Mets’ 16th best prospect. The 23-year old reliever has the potential to perhaps be a great MLB setup man. He is currently working at AA and is likely to be added to Mississippi’s roster. In his minor league career he has a career 2.91 ERA to go along with 12 K/9. He is under team control until 2022 and could form a great young bullpen alongside the likes of Arodys Vizcaino, Chris Withrow, Tyrell Jenkins, Shae Simmons and Dan Winkler in coming years.
Great job by Coppy to get anything for Johnson given his play, especially a mid-level prospect. Johnson will always be a fan favorite in Atlanta, but he may not have too much left in the tank.
We have updated our Braves Top Prospect List and Morris comes in at #24.