CLEVELAND — The methodical dismantling of a Cleveland Indians team that has been one of the most disappointing teams in the majors this season continued Friday. The Indians traded their two highest-paid players, outfielders Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Chris Johnson.
Swisher, in the third year of a four-year $56 million contract, is making $15 million this year. Bourn, in the third year of a four-year $48 million deal, is making $13.5 million this year. Three years ago, Swisher and Bourn, both with years of consistent and productive track records at the major league level, were signed to those big contracts in a rare plunge by the Indians into the expensive end of the free agent pool.
“Free agency is always a little bit of a crap shoot, but we hung our hats on the level of consistency both those guys had (prior to coming to Cleveland),” said Indians manager Terry Francona.
Unfortunately for the Indians, neither Swisher nor Bourn came close to living up to those contracts. Swisher had a decent 2013 season, but he has missed much of the last two years with a variety of injuries, the most serious being season-ending double knee surgery last August, the slow recovery from which has all but wiped out his 2015 season.
“It was tough,” Swisher said. “One and a half of those years I was banged up. I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to for that time. But baseball is a business. I understand that.”
Bourn, who averaged 54 stolen bases per year and won three consecutive National League stolen base crowns in the four years prior to signing with Cleveland, stole just 46 bases total in his three years in Cleveland.
“Stolen bases was a big part of why we acquired him,” said Francona. “That, and his defense in center field and ability to disrupt the game. But he wasn’t able to do that as often as we hoped.”
During his time in Cleveland the left-handed hitting Bourn was frequently bothered by hamstring problems. He lost his spot as the Indians’ leadoff hitter earlier this season, and since the All-Star break this year Francona had frequently benched him against left-handed pitchers.
“I didn’t play as good as I thought I could play this year,” said Bourn, who hit .246 with 13 stolen bases and a .313 on base percentage. “I know this wasn’t a great marriage, but it wasn’t a bad marriage. It was somewhere in between. You sometimes split up and try somewhere else.”
Friday’s trade is basically an exchange of bad contracts. Johnson is in the second year of a three-year $23.5 million contract. After finishing second in the NL in hitting with a .321 average in 2013, Johnson has been in decline the last two years. This year he missed most of the month of May with a fractured left hand. In 153 at-bats with the Braves he hit .235 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
Francona said Johnson’s role with the Indians is still to be defined. He’s mostly a third baseman, but the Indians are currently giving rookie Giovanny Urshela an extended look at that position.
Swisher and Bourn join David Murphy, Brandon Moss, and Marc Rzepczynski as players traded by Cleveland over the last 10 days. Clearly, the priorities have changed for the Indians, who were picked by some to win the AL Central, but haven’t been over the .500 mark since April 9.
“When we signed both (Swisher and Bourn) we thought they would help expedite our return to competitiveness, but since 2013 things haven’t turned out the way we hoped,” said Indians general manager Chris Antonetti. “Going forward (Friday’s) trade gives us more financial and roster flexibility. It allows us to play and evaluate some of our younger guys and hopefully give us more clarity going into the offseason.”