Kelly Johnson for Ludwick "Up to Braves"???

[RedVerbs]

The AJC's David O'Brien believes Ryan Ludwick-for-Kelly Johnson is on the table if the Braves want to make the trade.

Ludwick was the far more valuable player of the two last season and is still cheap, but it looks like the Braves think Johnson will be the more valuable property going forward. If they were to make the deal, it'd be because they think they're better off with Martin Prado at second base than with any of their left-field options playing regularly.

 

credit: rotoworld.com

[17 Seconds]

sounds like a great deal for the braves

[weatherdood]

David O'Brien also spent weeks saying that Peavy to the Braves was as close to a done deal as it gets. Sounds like he might be Atlanta's version of Paul Sullivan

[17 Seconds]

David O'Brien also spent weeks saying that Peavy to the Braves was as close to a done deal as it gets. Sounds like he might be Atlanta's version of Paul Sullivan

 

well that could very well be true. a lot of the speculation has been that atlanta's refusal to allow Peavy's NTC was what held things up

[Post Count Padder]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

[17 Seconds]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

 

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

[RedVerbs]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

 

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

 

Depends on Rasmus production and the Ludwick drop off. It could be about the same or slightly worse.

[17 Seconds]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

 

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

 

Depends on Rasmus production and the Ludwick drop off. It could be about the same or slightly worse.

 

it's hard to get excited about rasmus' 2009 in the majors when his 2008 in the pcl was so crappy

[Post Count Padder]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

 

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

 

Depends on Rasmus production and the Ludwick drop off. It could be about the same or slightly worse.

Rasmus is still a good prospect, but his rookie season will probably be a rocky one. However, Ludwick is gonna fall back to earth, so it's anyone's guess if this trade will hurt them much.

[Jehrico]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

[17 Seconds]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

[RedVerbs]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

[Jehrico]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

Exactly...buy low on Johnson, sell high on Ludwick. Atl would have laughed at the proposal last year.

[17 Seconds]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

 

i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b

[Jehrico]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

 

i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b

If they don't think Ludwick will repeat his performance, then they are trying to sell him while his value is high. I.E. selling high.

[UK1679666180]

Personally, I think STL would be better off with Duncan in LF & Rasmus in CF and Johnson at 2B compared to Ludwick in RF and Kennedy at 2B. Of course, if they could lock up Durham for about 2yr at 4 per, him and Ludwick would be better than any of those combos even with the additional 4 mil.

[SouthSideRyan]

Well the Cards middle infield would be a heck of a lot better than last year.

 

but their outfield (offensively) would be significantly worse. i guess there's a good chance that would be the case even if ludwick stayed though

 

Depends on Rasmus production and the Ludwick drop off. It could be about the same or slightly worse.

 

I too think Rasmus is a good bet to outperform any #s he's put up in the minor leagues.

[17 Seconds]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

 

i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b

If they don't think Ludwick will repeat his performance, then they are trying to sell him while his value is high. I.E. selling high.

 

i always thought selling high meant getting the max/highest/truest possible value for a guy's recent success

[sneakypower]

priorpower's rocking my world in this thread

 

so the cardinals MI would be better next year with KJ/KG, Ludwick will probably regress from 1380 OPS and Rasmus' rookie season might be a rocky one

 

hows my mind? yeah its blown

you heard it here first folks, treasure that exclusive hard-hitting analysis

 

what do you see from Pujols in 09? personally i think he might have a good year imo

[Mephistopheles]

i see albert pujols hitting over .300 with an obp over .400 and a slugging percentage over .500

 

you heard it here first.

[Jehrico]

The Cards seem to be trying awfully hard to sell high on Ludwick...maybe they're not optimistic he can continue or improve upon what he did last year.

 

the problem is that kelly johnson isn't selling high

 

Well, you gotta think, after 2007 season, the Braves would've laughed at the thought of Ludwick for Kelly Johnson. Now, it's a realistic trade. I think it's much more likely (in this case) and arguably more valuable to have a second basemen who can hit 280/360/450 then have a corner outfielder that's 275/360/500.

 

i'm not saying it woud be a horrible trade, i'm just saying it's not really "selling high" when you trade a .966 ops CO for an .800 OPS 2b

If they don't think Ludwick will repeat his performance, then they are trying to sell him while his value is high. I.E. selling high.

 

i always thought selling high meant getting the max/highest/truest possible value for a guy's recent success

I also think your undervaluing a 26 yr old 2b with great defense who is already a good bet to OPS .800 or so. The 26 yr old part is part of the equation that I think you're overlooking.

[Clem Fandango]

Ludwick obviously won't hit like he did in St. Louis again. Ludwick benefitted from hitting around Albert Pujols. I remember looking up a while back that in the two weeks Pujols was injured, Ludwicks batting average dropped about 20-25 points and was slumping bad, and when Pujols came back he picked it right back up and stayed consistent with where it had fallen to.

 

I think Ludwick is a good candidate to hit another 30HR potentially. He's always had a lot of power. But I think his numbers are going to come out looking something like Troy Glaus' averages. Low AVG, decent OBP, acceptable SLG. An OPS+ anywhere between 115 and 125. Acceptable, above average, but not stupendous like he was this past season.

 

I think not having Pujols around him is going to be the cause of that. Atlanta is expecting him to be their Pujols, their big fearsome slugger to replace Mark Teixeira, but he's not ever going to be anything like that. If Chipper could stay healthy and they still had Teixeira he might be able to put up similar numbers, but those days will be over if he moves to a team without that type of Pujols-ian slugger.