Braves acquire Reed Johnson, Maholm

The Braves have acquired outfielder Reed Johnson and pitcher Paul Maholm and cash considerations from the Cubs in exchange for pitchers Arodys Vizcaino (pictured) and Jaye Chapman. Johnson was removed early from today's Cubs-Pirates game.

Johnson has hit .307 in 180 plate appearances this year. He has played all three outfield positions for Chicago and owns a career .313 batting average against left handed pitching. He signed a one year, $1.15 million deal with Chicago prior to this season and will hit free agency after the 2012 campaign.

Maholm has a 3.74 ERA with a 49.9% ground ball rate in 120 1/3 innings for the Cubs this year. He will earn $4.75 million this year and his contract includes a $6.5 million club option for the 2013 season. The Royals and Pirates showed interest in acquiring him earlier this month.

Maholm will join Atlanta's rotation that includes Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Mike Minor, Ben Sheets, and, as of tomorrow, Kris Medlen. The Braves tried to acquire Ryan Dempster from Chicago earlier in the month, but the veteran used his 10-5 rights to veto the deal.

Analysis: This is a great trade for both sides. Atlanta is getting the right handed bat they have been looking for in Johnson. Johnson has been very good for the Cubs over the past few years and definitely deserves to get everyday playing time. However, he will probably be used as the Braves' fourth outfielder. Maholm is a nice addition also. He is a nice number five starter for Atlanta and he will definitely have success with them. It's nice to have pitching depth considering its only a matter of time until Ben Sheets gets hurt again. As for the Cubs, this is a somewhat risky deal for them, but I still like it. Vizcaino will miss this season due to Tommy John surgery he underwent earlier in the year, but he is an excellent prospect. He has some electric stuff and it will be interesting to see if he bounces back from this surgery. As for Chapman, I really don't expect that much from him. He's put up decent numbers at the Triple-A level. He could turn himself into a nice middle relief man, but that's really all he would become at the big league level.