The hilarity of the Stephen Drew-Kelly Johnson trade

Yankees traded a 2B they were using as a 3B to get a SS they will use as a 2B.

So the Yankees incrementally improved their team by trading for Martin Prado and Stephen Drew at the deadline. Prado is better than Ichiro Suzuki, Drew is better than Brian Roberts. A clear upgrade, even if it's not very flashy at all. Honestly though, I find the idea of trading Kelly Johnson away just to acquire Drew to be pretty freaking hilarious. See:

I don't even care about this David Price trade, this Stephen Drew for Kelly Johnson trade is legit hilarious

— Jason Cohen (@Jason00Cohen) July 31, 2014

First of all, the Yankees and Red Sox actually traded for the first time since 1997, when New York acquired Mike Stanley, so it's absolutely historic. The trade really doesn't help the Red Sox that much, other than getting some salary relief. Also, Kelly Johnson is still on the disabled list, so that's funny in itself.

No, the real reason I find it to be a hilarious trade is this:

@ESPNNYYankees So they forced 2B Johnson to play 3B so they traded him for SS Drew who they'll force to play 2B!

— Jason Cohen (@Jason00Cohen) July 31, 2014

Let me break the joke down for you: Kelly Johnson, a second baseman for most of his career, was forced to play third base, and really every other position on the field in order to accommodate Brian Roberts. In fact, he wasn't even used there occasionally. It was like Johnson came to the Yankees and suddenly wasn't a second baseman anymore. So he looked awful everywhere he played and struggled when he was actually allowed to play.

After they finally became fed up with Brian Roberts, they actually then traded Johnson, a second baseman, to the Red Sox for Stephen Drew, who is a shortstop. They will now force this shortstop to be a second baseman for them the rest of the way!

I mean, sure, Drew might be a better hitter than Johnson, maybe. Perhaps they'll give Derek Jeter a break and let Drew play short...oh wait, that's what Brendan Ryan is here for. It feels like the Yankees' idea of versatility is playing a bunch of dudes out of position and hoping they don't look stupid out there. Prado hasn't played the outfield regularly in years and he's never really been a right fielder. I mean, they're now going out of their way to get more players to play out of position for them. Like, on purpose.

I don't dislike this trade, maybe I even like it, but I also don't care about this trade. I just want to laugh at how stupid this all looks on paper.

Fin.