Kelly Johnson Back with Mets

Well, it worked last year; the Mets on Wednesday reacquired Kelly Johnson from the Braves.

When the Mets got Kelly and Juan Uribe in July 2015 (also from the Braves), there was suddenly a veteran presence on the bench, and it helped turn the Mets season around. The team is hoping for the same magic again.

Kelly Johnson is hitting just .215 with a homer and 10 RBIs in 49 games on a miserable Braves team. In exactly 49 games with the Mets last year, he hit .250 with five homers and 13 RBIs. So while he will not set the world on fire, he does provide a steady bat on the bench and can fill in as a starter as needed.

I was surprised they didn’t re-sign Johnson in the off-season. He signed for a reasonable $2 million, which is not substantially more than they were paying Eric Campbell, who is not close to the player that Johnson is.

The Mets gave up minor league pitcher Akeel Morris and some cash for Kelly Johnson.