The Giants returned Rule 5 pick Steve Johnson to the Orioles, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. Baltimore will pay $25K for the transaction.
Johnson, 22, was part of the trade that sent George Sherrill to the Dodgers last July, and posted a 3.41 ERA with a 9.5 K/9 and a 3.8 BB/9 in 145.1 innings split between the two organizations in 2009. Baseball America ranked Johnson as San Francisco's 20th best prospect coming into the season, saying he profiles best as a back-end starter or middle reliever.
The 15th pick in the Rule 5 Draft walked six batters and allowed five hits in 4.2 innings this spring.
