Dan Johnson Rumors

Odds And Ends: Johnson, Bloomquist, Smoltz

Links for Saturday: We knew Dan Johnson was heading to Japan, but now it's official. He'll play for the Yokohama BayStars and earn $1.5MM in 2009. Rob Neyer writes that the Willie Bloomquist signing caps an offseason that's cost the Royals a lot and left them with very little top talent. Losing John Smoltz hasn't been easy for the Braves. MLB.com's Tom Singer takes a look at some of the remaining free agent pitchers. Buster Olney creates a team of the remaining free agents and it doesn't look bad. He also has a fun idea for teams who want to...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Redding, Turnbow, Looper

Links for Saturday... RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis. 35 home runs next year? Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations. More details on Dan Johnson - the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000. Tim Redding's agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty. Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins' interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren't going after Ray King. The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper. The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste. New National Josh...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Wilson, Bautista, Hairston

Linkage for Friday... The AP explains how C.C. Sabathia will be paid $9.5MM before throwing a pitch for the Yankees. The D'Backs signed lefty Travis Blackley. Dan Johnson is headed to Japan. The Cardinals signed Japanese pitcher Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league deal. Patrick Newman has details. Interesting discussion involving Raul Ibanez's defense. I did a Q&A with SportingGurus.com. Ken Rosenthal guesses destinations for 11 remaining free agents in this slideshow. MLB is undergoing a hiring/salary freeze and taking away 20% of vacation time for '09. Dejan Kovacevic had a lengthy chat with Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, who wishes...   Continue Reading

---

Dan Johnson Clears Waivers

FRIDAY: No one wanted Johnson; he cleared waivers and will head to Triple A Durham. WEDNESDAY: That was quick - Dan Johnson's time with the Rays is up. He's been designated for assignment in the wake of the Gabe Gross acquisition. Gross does make more sense for the roster spot. There are only a handful of teams that might be able to accomodate Johnson as a regular. We'll have to see which club was second in line for his services (if any). At the least, he'd be a strong bench player.   Continue Reading

---

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Johnson, Bonds, Piazza

So far during the 2008 regular season, 28 players have either been DFA'd or released. At the same point last year, that list only included 14 players. In the past four seasons, only 2006 (22) had more than 14 players DFA'd or released this early in the season. This will be an interesting trend to watch the rest of this season and into the early portion of 2009. It appears to be an indication that teams are showing less patience to work trades for fringe players or teams may be placing higher premiums on prospects, unwilling to move even mid-level...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Tejada, Howard, Johnson

Couple more odds and ends this evening... Orioles executive VP Mike Flanagan admitted he wouldn't have signed Miguel Tejada to a six-year deal if he knew the shortstop's proper age. But he still would've signed him (if possible). People are debating whether ESPN ambushed Tejada with his birth certificate...of course they did. Ken Rosenthal believes the optimal course of action for the Phillies is to just let Ryan Howard play out the string and then let him walk as a free agent after the 2011 season. Rays Index says the Dan Johnson acquisition signals a "win-now" attitude for the Rays.   Continue Reading

---

Rays Claim Dan Johnson

According to Susan Slusser, the Rays have claimed first baseman Dan Johnson off waivers. She expects him to put in time at DH while Cliff Floyd is out for the next month or so. Johnson moves from McAfee Coliseum (deflates LH HRs by 10%) to Tropicana Field (inflates LH HR by 4%). You can read Johnson's story here. He should be a decent stopgap for Tampa Bay.   Continue Reading

---

Dan Johnson Designated

THURSDAY, 10:00am: The Giants have no interest in Johnson, according to Henry Schulman. WEDNEDAY, 3:11pm: As expected, Johnson was designated for assignment today. 11:14am: Susan Slusser believes first baseman Dan Johnson's Oakland career might be over, as the A's need a roster spot for rookie starter Greg Smith. Speculation is that Billy Beane could try to trade him to the Giants, where he'd be free to play regularly and bat in the middle of the order. Johnson, 28, has a .249/.344/.419 career line in 318 games. He was a late bloomer, earning a September call-up in '04 as a 25...   Continue Reading

---

Giants Interested In Nick Johnson?

Henry Schulman at The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Giants GM Brian Sabean is seeking a left-handed hitting 1B to complement the aging Rich Aurilia, and lists Nick Johnson and the Braves' Scott Thorman as points of interest. Nick Johnson is off to a hot start hitting .368/.455/.688 in 19 ABs, and for this reason Schulman suggests he could be off the market; however, contrary to that rationale, the Nationals might want to take advantage of Johnson's sudden upswing in value. They do have Dmitri Young sitting idly by. If the Giants want to spend $11MM over the next 2...   Continue Reading

---

Decision On Johnson Could Come This Week

There just doesn't seem to be a spot in Oakland for Dan Johnson. Once seen as a solution at first base, ineffectiveness and injuries have slowed him down a bit. While the 28-year-old still has some promise, he's blocked in Oakland at first base by Daric Barton and Mike Sweeney, and at DH by Sweeney and Jack Cust. There's been some speculation of a Johnson trade, and that might be coming soon. Chad Gaudin can come off the DL on April 12, and Johnson could be the casualty. It depends, really, on whether Billy Beane and Bob Geren want to...   Continue Reading

---

Top Stories

Search MLBTR

Lijit Search

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST