Atlanta Braves Bring Back Jim Johnson

Jul 21, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Jim Johnson (53) delivers a pitch to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter in the ninth inning of their game at Turner Field. The Braves won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Relief Pitcher Jim Johnson Inks Return Deal With Atlanta Braves for 2016

Braves Beat writers Mark Bowman and Dave O’Brien both clued us in this afternoon on a repeat signing intended to add to the bullpen for 2016:

Both also noted that Atlanta is still “looking to add another couple of relievers, including a lefty.”  That statement actually seems to be more interesting that today’s news about Jim Johnson.

It would seem that competition just got a lot more difficult for pitchers such as Chris Withrow, Daniel Winkler (who has to stay on the roster through April or be lost back to the Rockies), Brandon Cunniff, Matt Marksberry, Andrew McKirahan, Paco Rodriguez (nope: TJ surgery; h/t to @kilogrey for the correction), Danny Burawa, and new (minor league deal) signee David Carpenter… and that’s the short list.

Pitchers who seem to have the best initial shot at sticking in the bullpen are Johnson, Arodys Vizcaino, and Ian Krol.  Shae Simmons might have to work into pitching form slowly and isn’t likely to be ready to start the season on time.  Jason Grilli is a lock once ready, though his Achilles injury from 2015 could slow him for a while… actually (speculating here), the timing could work out that he might swap places with Winkler around the end of April… but we’ll have to wait on that.

So there’s 3-5 bullpen slots to fill (depending on Grilli and Simmons) with the prospect of 2 more signees still to come.  That just doesn’t leave a lot of room for the initial group above.  But then major league baseball is a competitive environment, and those who throw strikes and get people out are going to earn the spots.

The Financial Bits

This is a little interesting in that Johnson cost Atlanta $1.6 million in 2015… at least that’s what he was paid:  the Dodgers picked up some of that after he was dealt out West.  So he gets a bump of nearly $1 million after something of a Jekyll-Hyde season.  Here, the beat writers saved me the trouble of looking this up myself:

Yeah – he was a disaster in Los Angeles… and you can’t really claim ‘small sample sizes’ either, for they kept running him out there. Hopefully Southern Cooking will appeal to him once again in 2016.

More from Tomahawk Take

• Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: Zeke Spruill
• Braves News: Atlanta extends Sean Murphy, pitcher reunions, more
• Atlanta Braves: Six Braves prospects that could debut in 2023
• Braves News: Braves sign Sean Murphy to six year, $73 million deal
• Braves News: Braves re-sign Stephens, Will Atlanta extend Max Fried?, more

So now he’s back to re-rehab his status as a useful late-innings reliever.  He was traded at the deadline last season:  I suppose the goal for the Braves is that he pitches well enough to repeat that over the next several months.

With his $2.5 million added, I now project the opening day payroll at $97,425,000, which is $22.6 million below the stated maximum.  This includes arbitration estimates for all arb-eligibles including Mike Minor ($5.6m), who I expect to be non-tendered on Wednesday.  It also includes $4.9m for Shelby Miller who I expect to be traded sometimes in the next week or two.

The highest paid on the roster continue to be Nick Swisher ($15m) and Michael Bourn ($14m).  Even if they stay with the team, their deals will be off the books after 2016, along with the contract of Erick Aybar ($8.5m).

Remind Me Who This Guy Is?

Johnson is 32-1/2 now; he hails from … wait for it… Johnson City, NY.  No word on whether either Chris or Kelly Johnson have been through that town.  Jim was drafted by the Orioles in 2001 as a 5th round pick, and made the majors at the end of July in 2006.

Next: Castro's Cause Getting Curtailed?

On that day, he was lit up for 8 earned runs and the loss – as a starter – and converted to a reliever shortly thereafter.  He was back up to stay in 2008 and continued to improve through 2013, a year in which he saved 50+ games for the second year in a row.

Alas, The O’s traded him to A’s after the 2013 season, and started perhaps a pattern:  maybe it’s just being on the West Coast.  He was a mess for Oakland and then Detroit in 2014 with a bunch of his stats ballooning high.  In 2015, he got his pitches back down, the walks diminished, and the ERA came down to a level not seen since perhaps his best season while not a closer… way back in 2008.