UPDATE 11:03 PM: Johnson goes to the Braves, along with Paul Maholm, per Jon Morosi.
UPDATE 10:35 PM: Bill Brink reports that the Pirates weren’t the team to add Johnson.
UPDATE 10:33 PM: Rob Biertempfel reports that it is unlikely the Pirates have acquired Johnson.
UPDATE 10:31 PM: Ken Rosenthal reports that Johnson and Soto were in separate deals.
UPDATE 10:27 PM: Jon Heyman reports that Johnson has been traded, but that it’s a mystery where he’s going. Also, it appears the Cubs dealt Geovanny Soto, as he was shown hugging teammates in the dugout. While there are rumors connecting the Pirates to Johnson, there’s nothing with Soto. I wouldn’t imagine the Pirates would be trading for him with Barajas and McKenry on the roster.
10:18PM: Reed Johnson left the Cubs/Pirates game tonight in the fifth inning as he was about to step up to the plate. When he was pulled from the game, he was greeted with handshakes and hugs from his teammates, which makes it likely that he was traded mid-game.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports that four teams made their best offers for Johnson today. Levine names the Pirates as one of those teams. We don’t know that Johnson has been traded, although it seems likely based on how he left the game. Assuming he was traded, there’s only a possibility that he went to the Pirates.
On the season, Johnson is hitting for a .307/.361/.452 line, prior to tonight’s game. He’s making $1.15 M this year.
I’ll update this post as more information comes out.
