Indians deal Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn to Braves for Chris Johnson

The first August waiver trade of the season has been made, and it's a doozy. The Cleveland Indians will send Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn to the Atlanta Braves for Chris Johnson in a swap of bad contracts.

The move is puzzling for a number of reasons.

The 34-year-old Swisher is hitting just .198/.261/.297 over 101 at-bats this season and is coming off surgery on both his knees. He's actually currently on the disabled list due to lingering knee issues.

He now goes to a team that cannot play him at DH. Swisher isn't going to push Freddie Freeman out of playing time when both men are healthy, so it looks like he's either an expensive bench player, or an outfielder once he returns. Swisher has played just one game in the outfield this season.

Bourn also doesn't make a ton of sense for Atlanta. He's struggled at the plate, hitting just .246/.313/.294 over 289 at-bats. With Cameron Maybin enjoying a solid season, it's unlikely Bourn will take time away from a younger, more promising player. He could supplant Eury Perez in left, though Perez has hit well in a limited sample.

The move allows the team to start newly-acquired third baseman Hector Olivera once he's ready, but Johnson's presence shouldn't have held them back at this point. That's the one positive of the move, if you're digging deep.

Johnson makes slightly more sense for Cleveland, though his acquisition is still a head-scratcher. Johnson is hitting just .235/.272/.320 over 153 at-bats this season, so it's tough to see him pushing anyone out of a starting role.

Giovanny Urshela hasn't set the world on fire since his promotion, but Urshela is younger and more promising than Johnson. On top of that, he's regarded as a strong fielder. Johnson could spend some time as the team's DH now that Swisher is gone.

Considering all of that, it's tough not to look at this as a salary dump. Even then, the deal is still confusing. Swisher and Bourn are under contract for next season, and are owed $29 million. They each have 2017 options based on plate appearances and health, but there's no way either player will reach those marks.

Johnson is under contract through 2017, and will make roughly $19 million over that period. He has a club option for 2018, and it seems unlikely that will be picked up unless he experiences a rebirth with his new team.

As part of the deal, Cleveland will send $10 million to Atlanta to offset to cost of taking on both Swisher and Bourn.

That pretty makes it an equal swap. The two clubs will take on the same amount of money, but Atlanta will be rid of their financial commitments a year sooner.

 

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With the team's new stadium set to open in 2017, this could be a way for the Braves to free up as much cash as possible entering that offseason. If the goal is to compete in the new stadium immediately, the deal makes a bit more sense for the Braves.

At the same time, Johnson's $9 million salary in 2017 probably wouldn't have held the team back from making a big move. Johnson wouldn't have been a big contributor in 2017 anyway, so the Braves can use that $9 million to bring in a better player who will actually help them win games.

Cleveland frees up some cash next season, but Johnson remains on the books for 2017. That's the price they have to pay for getting rid of both Swisher and Bourn in the same deal. That's probably the upside of the deal on their end. They got rid of two bad players who had bad contracts. They picked up another bad player who also has a bad contract, but isn't owed as much moving forward.

All in all, we're not quite sure what to make of it. The Braves appear to be setting themselves up for contention in 2017, and the move helps them do that. The Indians probably just wanted to get rid of some poor contracts no matter what the cost.

Some big names may have swapped teams Friday, but the trade, and the ultimate benefit for both clubs, will likely produce underwhelming results.