We’ll track the day’s minor moves in this post. There’s only one of note thus far:
- The Rangers have released right-hander Steve Johnson, per a club announcement. He had been hammered for eight earned runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 spring innings, though he did pick up five strikeouts in that span. The 28-year-old has seen only sporadic major league time over the past several seasons with the Orioles, and joined on with Texas on a minor league deal in hopes of a new opportunity. That will have to come with still another organization, but the rest of the league will surely take notice of Johnson’s strong output at Triple-A last season. Over 54 2/3 innings, he worked to a 2.30 ERA with 11.0 K/9 versus 2.6 BB/9.
My bet is he signs a minor league deal with the Orioles. He only left knowing he had little chance of cracking the Os major league roster so he took an opportunity elsewhere. While he signed a minor league deal his hopes were to crack the roster. Now he knows that he’s going to the minors no matter what he will go back to the Os in hopes he gets another shot. The O’s didn’t want him to leave so if he accepts another minor league deal it will be with the O’s. I bet they have already reached out to his reps. Mark the tape