Baltimore Orioles sign third baseman Chris Johnson to minor league deal
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles have signed 32-year-old third baseman Chris Johnson to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
The Baltimore Orioles have signed 32-year-old third baseman Chris Johnson to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring Training, the team announced this morning.
Johnson played for the Miami Marlins in 2016, playing in 113 games and hitting .222/.281/.329 with five home runs, 20 R, and 24 RBIs, by far the worst year of his career.
Johnson made somewhat of a name for himself with the Houston Astros and more so with the Atlanta Braves, building a reputation for himself as a high-average, decent power hitter.
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Johnson’s best season came in 2013 with the Braves when he batted .321/.358/.457 with 12 HRs, 54 R, and 68 RBIs, much of which was fueled by an insane .394 BABIP.
Johnson has always been plagued by a lack of plate discipline over his career, with a career 25.1% strikeout rate and a career 4.5% walk rate. While his walk rate was a career-high last season (7.2%), his strikeout rate was as well (29.5%).
The addition of Johnson to the Baltimore Orioles seems to be an odd move, as he fills a need that the team really doesn’t have. He’s spent his career has a third baseman and first baseman, two positions the Orioles have an abundance of.
While Johnson has proven himself to be a very capable hitter in the past, it seems his bat skills are declining in a fairly significant way. He’s also shown to be a liability defensively at third base, something the Orioles most certainly do not need.
As it stands, it’s doubtful that Johnson will make the major league roster for the Orioles unless there’s some sort of injury. I’d be surprised to see him supplant Christian Walker or Ryan Flaherty as the corner infield backups, or even leap over Trey Mancini were the Orioles to need another corner infielder.
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For now, it seems that Johnson will be relegated to Triple-A Norfolk and will likely stay there for the majority of the season, barring some kind of unusual need for the Baltimore Orioles major league roster.