Atlanta Braves morning chop, Micah Johnson gets claimed by the Reds, Investigation update
By Jeff Schafer
Reds claim Micah Johnson off waivers from the Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: On January 13, 2017 the Atlanta Braves traded for Micah Johnson in exchange for a PTBNL or cash to the LA Dodgers. I never saw the PTBNL so I’m guessing the Braves sent cash to LA…they probably needed the cash with the expensive roster they have.
The now 26-year-old played in only 18 games for the Braves in 2017 after injuring his wrist in Spring Training. Many believed he would break Spring Training with the Braves and be a huge contributor off the bench in 2017. The injury set him back a lot and missed almost half the year. He returned to the ball field in July, but with both Sean Rodriguez and Danny Santana returning around the same time, I think he was overlooked.
Johnson was also a part of one of John Coppolella’s mistakes as it was reported on September 1st that he was designated for assignment by the Braves in order to open more spots on the 40-man roster. The club officially listed Johnson as being DFA’d prior to their game on Sept 1st, but later came out and said “they made a mistake”.
Good luck to ya Micah. He’s a great follow on Twitter and an amazing artist.
"The Reds announced on Thursday that the club claimed 2B/OF Micah Johnson off waivers from the Braves.Johnson, 26, spent most of his 2017 season with Triple-A Gwinnett. He hit .289/.377/.400 in 155 plate appearances. He wasn’t able to find that same success in his brief stint in the majors. Across 18 games and 11 plate appearances in the bigs, Johnson hit .200 with only two singles and no extra-base hits.Johnson was once a highly regarded prospect with the White Sox. He’s been involved in two trades already: he went to the Dodgers in the three-team trade that also involved the Reds; and he went from the Dodgers to the Braves this past January for a bag of baseballs. The Reds will be the latest to try to fashion him into a capable major leaguer."
Next: Braves have payroll questions, we try to answer
MLB wrapping up Braves investigation
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: The story that has kinda died down within the last few days, but continues to linger over our heads…how hard will the MLB come down on the Atlanta Braves after the rules infractions. Will John Hart somehow stay with this team — even though his doesn’t have a new contract yet? Will the Braves lose any international signings or lose future picks? The suspense is killing us!!
MLB will not announce anything until after the 2017 World Series. It’s actually a fairly quick investigation which could favor the Atlanta Braves. When the Boston Red Sox were going through this a few years back, it took two years to find their verdict.
Though, Heyman reports in this article that the Braves violations may be more widespread and could result in harsher penalties. Ugh! That would be awful. The Red Sox lost international signed players and they couldn’t sign players in the next signing period. I would hate to lose any of our promising prospects.
"Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Atlanta Braves and alleged wrongdoing is said to be in the final stages, with a decision expected soon after the World Series.MLB continued to investigate after general manager John Coppolella’s forced resignation a few weeks ago (that was a Braves call), and it is expected to announce the results of its inquiry not long after the Dodgers and Astros are done playing in the World Series.The league has interviewed team president John Hart multiple times, as well as legendary GM John Schuerholz, who just got into the Hall of Fame, and just about every member of the Braves’ baseball operations department as it investigates alleged rules violations internationally and domestically."