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Angels Place Garrett Richards, Nick Tropeano, Zack Cozart, Jim Johnson On 10-Day DL

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The Angels have announced a significant roster shuffle occasioned by a few injuries. Starters Garrett Richards and Nick Tropeano are each hitting the DL, as are infielder Zack Cozart and reliever Jim Johnson.

It’s not fully clear how severe these injuries are, but it’s still an ugly casualty list for a team that has already had some worrying health issues arise recently. Richards has a left hamstring strain, while Tropeano is dealing with right shoulder inflammation.

With Shohei Ohtani already on the shelf, likely joining JC Ramirez and Matt Shoemaker there for a lengthy stretch, the team’s rotation depth has already been tapped into. It seems the team is likely to call upon John Lamb in the near-term, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets that he’s with the team (though not yet active). That’ll require a 40-man move. Otherwise, the best 40-man possibilities are Parker Bridwell, Felix Pena, and Miguel Almonte.

Pena is among the four players coming up to take the open roster spots for the time being. He could presumably become a rotation option, but there’s a pressing enough need that it’s fair to wonder if outside possibilities will be pursued.

Along with Pena, the team has called up three additional right-handed hurlers to help absorb innings. Eduardo Paredes, Akeel Morris, and Jake Jewell will all come off of the Triple-A Salt Lake roster to join the club in Oakland. That’ll at least help the team deal with the absence of Johnson, who has a lumbar strain.

In some regards — without knowing details yet from the team — Cozart’s injury may be the most worrisome. It’s particularly poor timing given that Andrelton Simmons is also sidelined, though the real concern here is the question of severity.

Cozart has been diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation, a potentially worrying injury. That injury has in recent years sent at least two players — righty Carson Smith and infielder Marco Hernandez — to the operating room for season-ending procedures. Hopefully, that won’t be needed in Cozart’s case, but the fates of those players serve to illustrate the seriousness of injuries of this general variety.

Angels Acquire Jim Johnson, International Bonus Money From Braves

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6:40pm: Indeed, Angels GM Billy Eppler forthrightly acknowledges that the team sought the spending capacity “with an eye toward” pursuit of Ohtani, as Fletcher tweets. That the market now also features some notable potential consolation prizes in the form of younger international talent surely made it easier for the Halos to justify the gambit.

2:26pm: Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that the Angels do indeed plan to use the extra funds in order to enhance their pitch to Ohtani. Further, he tweets that Johnson is technically only owed $4.5MM through the end of his contract, not $5MM, due to a $500K signing bonus that has already been paid out.

1:53pm: Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) that the Angels will receive all of the Braves’ remaining pool space: a total of $1.21MM. While the CBA mandates that pool money must be traded in blocks of $250K, it also outlines an exception in the event that the club’s remaining pool space is less than $250K (which would apply to the $210K that remained after the first million).

As Mayo notes, this now gives the Angels a total of $1.315MM that they can offer Ohtani (or another international free agent, such as former Braves prospect Kevin Maitan).

1:13pm: The Braves announced today that they’ve traded right-hander Jim Johnson to the Angels in exchange for minor league lefty Justin Kelly. The Angels also pick up a yet-undetermined amount of international bonus money in the deal, per each club’s announcement.

Jim Johnson | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson, 34, parlayed a strong 2016 season into a two-year, $10MM contract with the Braves but flopped to the tune of a 5.56 ERA in the first season of that deal in 2017. The former Orioles closer and two-time American League saves leader logged 56 2/3 innings with 9.7 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and 1.27 HR/9 in what proved to be his worst season since the 2014 season. Johnson’s once sky-high ground-ball rate (62.3 percent at his peak) sat at a solid but unremarkable level of 48.5 percent in 2017.

Despite the rough year, though, Johnson’s season wasn’t devoid of reason for optimism. His 9.7 K/9 rate was the best of his career, as was his 9.4 percent swinging-strike rate. His fastball maintained its 93-94 mph velocity, and metrics like xFIP (3.98) and SIERA (3.87) were considerably more bullish on his output. Johnson also isn’t far removed from a strong season; as previously alluded to, he turned in a 3.06 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9 and a 55 percent grounder rate in 64 2/3 frames as recently as 2016. For an Angels club that has already lost Yusmeiro Petit and also saw relievers Bud Norris, Andrew Bailey, Huston Street and (in a summer trade) David Hernandez depart, Johnson will give them a rebound option to soak up some of the lost innings.

Of course, Johnson is a bit pricey for a bullpen rebound candidate, earning $5MM in 2018. However, the Halos will also pick up some coveted international funds that they’ll add to what was a reportedly depleted total of $150K in their international bonus pool. International pool space must be traded in increments of at least $250K, per the collective bargaining agreement, so Anaheim will nearly triple its available resources even if they received only the minimum $250K. Those funds, of course, can be used as part of a pitch to Shohei Ohtani or to some of the Braves’ recently lost prospects, who are all subject to international pools.

[Related: Updated Angels Depth Chart and Braves Depth Chart]

Kelly, 25 in April, was a 33rd-round pick out of UC Santa Barbara in 2016 and spent the bulk of his first full professional season in the Class-A Midwest League. In 29 2/3 innings there, Kelly pitched to a strong 2.43 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 44.4 percent ground-ball rate. The Halos gave him brief looks in Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A late in the season, though none of those three cameos produced enviable results.

Overall, Kelly’s season wrapped up with a composite 3.53 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings (six starts, 19 relief appearances). Considering he’s the return in a move that amounts to a salary dump from the Braves, it’s not especially surprising that Kelly wasn’t ranked among the Angels’ top 30 farmhands. He could head to the bullpen for the Braves’ Class-A Advanced affiliate to open the 2018 campaign.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Injury Notes: Hernandez, Wainwright, Marisnick, Johnson

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As planned, Felix Hernandez will come off the DL to start tonight for the Mariners, according to a club announcement. It’ll be King Felix’s first start for Seattle since July 31st. It’s been a tough year for the righty so far (this was his second stint on the disabled list for issues with his throwing shoulder), but he’ll have a chance to turn things around and keep the Mariners breathing in the AL Wild Card chase.

Some other injury news and updates from around MLB…

  • Cardinals righty Adam Wainwright threw a bullpen session today, according to a tweet from MLB beat reporter Jenifer Langosch. At this point in the season, and with the Cards three games back in a battle for the NL Central pennant, it seems likely that the veteran will pitch out of the bullpen upon his return. Langosch also notes that reliever Seung-hwan Oh threw a bullpen session as well, while Jedd Gyorko and Dexter Fowler took practice on the field.
  • Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick left Wednesday’s game with an apparent thumb injury after sliding into second base in the top of the third inning. Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle offers some thoughts on the unfortunate situation for the AL West-leading Astros, noting that the recently-acquired Cameron Maybin and rookie Derek Fisher are likely to see increases in playing time. The organization hasn’t released details on the severity of the injury, but manager A.J. Hinch offered that, “It doesn’t look good.” For reference, significant thumb injuries — such as fractures or ligament tears — frequently require absences of at least six to eight weeks. More information will likely be available sometime after Marisnick undergoes tests in Houston today.
  • Veteran reliever Jim Johnson of the Atlanta Braves has been diagnosed with achilles tendinitis, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. He remained in Atlanta while the team traveled to Washington, and Braves manager Brian Snitker says he’s unlikely to pitch this weekend. Johnson is in the first year of a 2-year, $10MM deal with the Braves. It remains to be seen whether he’ll pitch again this season, but its certainly an unfortunate development for Johnson after losing the closer role to Arodys Vizcaino already this season. For Atlanta, the loss of Johnson thins out a bullpen that already has the fifth-highest ERA among all major league teams.

Braves Place Jim Johnson, R.A. Dickey On Revocable Waivers

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The Braves have placed righties Jim Johnson and R.A. Dickey on revocable waivers, according to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter).

These two veterans become the first to be reported of the many players who’ll hit the waiver wire this month. The placement is the first step toward possibly trading a player; you can read more about that here. It also means little in and of itself, since a team can always pull back a player if a claim is made (hence, “revocable”).

In this case, the news is worthy of note, since both Atlanta pitchers are conceivable trade candidates. Johnson, especially, figures to hold appeal. The 34-year-old has averaged 10.6 K/9 and a fifty percent groundball rate through 44 innings, even if the results (4.09 ERA) aren’t quite as exciting. And he’s earning a reasonable $5MM this year and next, making him a plausible candidate to be claimed.

It seems unlikely at this point that any contenders will show significant interest in Dickey. The 42-year-old knuckler is valued mostly for his steady innings, and is earning $7.5MM this year before the team makes a decision on his $8MM club option ($500K buyout) for 2018. Dickey has been solid, with a 4.08 ERA over 128 innings, but it’s less than clear there’s much demand for a pitcher of his ilk down the stretch.

MLBTR traditionally maintains a list of players who have cleared waivers and therefore can be traded freely, and will do so again this year once we learn the outcome on these or other players. Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that we typically don’t hear of all those who clear.

Post-Deadline Notes: Gray, Cards, Darvish, Britton, Estrada, Braves

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The Cardinals “float[ed]” a trade proposal for Sonny Gray before the Athletics shipped him to the Yankees, according to MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal. In concept, at least, St. Louis would have considered sending young outfielder Stephen Piscotty to Oakland along with a promising starter (Luke Weaver or Jack Flaherty), though it seems talks never got going. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks closer at the Cards’ lack of action on deadline day. Top baseball decisionmaker John Mozeliak acknowledged “a level of frustration” that nothing got done, though he also said the team wasn’t inclined to make deals just for the sake of action. Ultimately, momentum never built toward a deal for Lance Lynn, and the club’s other chatter never materialized into a trade. You’ll want to peruse the lengthy column for all the details.

Here are some more post-deadline links of note:

  • The Dodgers’ acquisition of Yu Darvish came together quite late, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports explains in fascinating detail. It became apparent the Dodgers wouldn’t get Zach Britton from the Orioles within a half hour of the deadline, but the team had already “abandoned hope” of landing Darvish. The Rangers, meanwhile, had run through their alternative trade partners for the ace righty and found none availing. The paths of the two organizations converged just twenty minutes before the deadline. You’ll certainly want to give the story a full read; Texas fans will also want to check out this piece from Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on the team’s unannounced but still-evident rebuilding path.
  • In the end, there just wasn’t that much demand in the marketplace for Darvish, Rosenthal also notes — so much so that the Dodgers were nearly in position to land both Darvish from the Rangers and lefty Zach Britton from the Orioles. That said, there was “some overlap” between the prospects in both potential deals, and it obviously would’ve required a steep overall price to get both arms. Instead, Los Angeles added two different lefties, Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani.
  • As regards Britton, Rosenthal had some stern words for how things played out. The Orioles spurned not only the Dodgers but likely also the Astros. For Baltimore, the deadline approach “was disturbingly short-sighted,” by Rosenthal’s reckoning. And when Houston wasn’t able to find another top-end arm, says Rosenthal, its body of deadline work became a “lost opportunity.” It does seem worth bearing in mind, particularly regarding the Astros, that the August trade period appears to be full of opportunities for making further moves if the need is there.
  • Over in Toronto, the Blue Jays ended up holding onto righty Marco Estrada and then watched him turn in a strong outing last night. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes, Jays GM Ross Atkins suggested yesterday that the organization may yet see Estrada as a part of the team’s future — though his contract is up at year’s end and he perhaps remains a plausible August trade piece. With Estrada remaining in Toronto through the deadline, said Atkins, “we’ll start thinking about not only how he impacts us now, but how he can potentially impact us beyond 2017.”
  • Be sure also to check out the trade deadline rundown from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, who assesses some winners and losers from the day’s action. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney also issued deadline grades in an Insider piece.
  • With the Braves holding on deadline day, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman takes stock of the months to come. Second baseman Brandon Phillips, reliever Jim Johnson, and starter R.A. Dickey could all be possible August trade chips, he notes, while the inclination of the organization remains to consider deals involving first baseman Matt Adams over the offseason. Meanwhile, Atlanta continues its long-standing pursuit of controllable pitching, though that’ll surely await the end of the current season.

Trade Rumblings: Lynn, Darvish, Strickland, Johnson, Cubs, Blevins

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Teams around the league are waiting for the Cardinals to give a clear indication that they intend to trade right-hander Lance Lynn, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The impending free agent is among the most sought-after assets in a thin market for starting pitching, Olney adds. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests, though, that the Cardinals haven’t exactly made Lynn’s availability a secret. St. Louis is “in the process of generating a market and offers” for Lynn, according to Goold, though they’re also still trying to acquire a bat to put in the middle of their lineup. Goold speculates that once Sonny Gray is finally traded, other clubs may then pivot to the Redbirds and make their best offer for Lynn, who hasn’t had any substantive talks with Cardinals brass about an extension. The Yankees have interest in Lynn, per Goold, who also notes that the Dodgers and Indians have scouted St. Louis recently. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Royals have also had recent talks with the Cardinals about Lynn.

More trade rumblings with the non-waiver deadline now less than 72 hours away…

  • Yu Darvish is still the Dodgers’ top target, but the team isn’t likely to surrender any of its “very top prospects” in order to pry him away from the Rangers, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Dodgers view Sonny Gray as a fallback option for Darvish, who is also drawing interest from the Yankees, Cubs and Astros, according to Heyman.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Giants are open to moving Hunter Strickland but feel that the vast number of relief options available on the trade market could prevent them from extracting max value. As such, San Francisco may simply elect to hold onto the 28-year-old with the intent of pairing him with Mark Melancon, a returning Will Smith and a seemingly rejuvenated Sam Dyson at the back of the bullpen in 2018. (On a somewhat related note, MLBTR recently ran down the trade market for right-handed relievers and for left-handed relievers.)
  • Also from Crasnick (Twitter link), the Braves are listening to offers for right-hander Jim Johnson, though they’re not actively trying to move the veteran, either. The 34-year-old is playing out the first season of a two-year, $10MM extension inked last October. He’s worked to a 4.10 ERA through 41 2/3 frames, albeit with a career-high 10.8 K/9 that has contributed to a more encouraging 3.21 SIERA mark. Johnson’s 50.5 percent ground-ball rate is the lowest of his career, though, and his 3.2 BB/9 represents his highest mark since a brutal 2014 season.
  • The Cubs have been oft-connected to Tigers catcher Alex Avila as they seek to acquire a more experienced backup option to young Willson Contreras, but MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Avila is one of many names on the Cubs’ list. He’s not a priority for the Cubs, per Rosenthal, who adds that Chicago is seeking more of a defense-first upgrade. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that Chicago could be in on Marlins veteran A.J. Ellis as a possible option. Among the catchers that are likely to be available, Rene Rivera may well have the best defensive reputation.
  • Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets that teams have continued to call the Mets on the availability of left-hander Jerry Blevins, but GM Sandy Alderson and his staff aren’t keen on moving the 33-year-old. Blevins is viewed by the Mets as an important piece to the team’s 2018 plans, per Carig. Blevins is much more of a specialist than fellow southpaw trade candidates Justin Wilson and Brad Hand, having limited same-handed opponents to a putrid .173/.230/.185 batting line. Conversely, right-handed opponents have absolutely clobbered Blevins (.316/.469/.632) through 49 plate appearances. He’s earning $5.5MM i 2017 and has a $7MM club option for the 2018 campaign.

Cafardo’s Latest: Marlins, Royals, Twins, Padres, Dodgers, Red Sox, Braves

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The groups bidding on the Marlins have concerns over whether baseball will ever make it big in Miami, reports the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo, who adds that it’s possible the team needs a major Latin American star to market itself to a largely Hispanic population. With that in mind, it would make sense for the Marlins to pursue Orioles third baseman and Florida native Manny Machado if he were to hit free agency after the 2018 season, opines Cafardo.  The club’s biggest star at the moment is right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, whose mammoth contract has been a burden in Jeffrey Loria’s attempt to sell the Marlins, according to Cafardo. Stanton is in Year 3 of a 13-year, $325MM deal and also has a full no-trade clause that the Los Angeles native would likely only waive to go to the West Coast, per Cafardo. There’s no indication that any West Coast teams are interested in acquiring the slugger, however.

Plenty more from Cafardo:

  • Royals left-hander Jason Vargas, in the midst of a career year at the age of 34, has seen his value skyrocket and is drawing “considerable interest” as a result, relays Cafardo. Vargas has been quite stingy through 60 1/3 innings, having logged a 2.39 ERA and a strong 3.20 FIP. He has also registered respectable strikeout and walk rates per nine innings (7.61 and 2.24, respectively), though he’s not exactly a high-velocity hurler and his 33.9 percent ground-ball rate sits well below the 44.4 percent league-average mark for starters. Vargas is on an $8MM salary this season as he concludes the four-year, $32MM contract he signed with Kansas City prior to the 2014 campaign.
  • Although the first-place Twins have been one of the majors’ biggest surprises this year, teams expect them to make righty Ervin Santana available before the trade deadline, says Cafardo. Long a decent starter, Santana has turned in a front-line-caliber ERA this year (1.80) through 70 innings, but his strikeout and walk rates (6.43 and 3.47, respectively, per nine), unsustainable batting average on balls in play (.136) and sky-high strand rate (91.5 percent) suggest regression is around the corner. To Santana’s credit, his success has hardly been all luck – hitters have had major difficulty squaring him up, evidenced by a relatively paltry average exit velocity against (84.1 mph). Any team acquiring Santana would land a multiyear rotation piece, as he’s signed through next season at $13.5MM and carries a $14MM club option for 2019.
  • The expectation is that the Padres will deal second baseman/third baseman Yangervis Solarte by the deadline, per Cafardo. Solarte’s name came up in trade rumors last winter on the heels of a career season (.286/.341/.467, 2.8 fWAR in 443 plate appearances), but he hasn’t helped his stock this year. So far in 2017, Solarte has slashed a meek .240/.330/.345 in 197 PAs. While it’s encouraging that his walk and strikeout rates match (10.2 percent), the 29-year-old has shown considerably less power than he did last season, with his ISO having dropped from .180 to .105. He’s quite affordable, though, with a $2.5MM salary this year and $4MM coming his way in 2018. Solarte also has a $5.5MM club option or a $750K buyout for 2019.
  • The Marlins “are actively looking for a taker” for righty Tom Koehler, writes Cafardo. Koehler, whom the Marlins were going to send to the minors before he went on the disabled list May 19 with shoulder bursitis, has drawn interest from both the Dodgers and Red Sox. Los Angeles would use Koehler as a reliever if it were to acquire him, suggests Cafardo, which would be a change of pace for someone who registered 30-plus starts in each of the previous three seasons. Koehler was a fairly stable option over those 97 outings, combining for a 4.07 ERA, 7.08 K/9, 3.74 BB/9 and a 43.7 percent ground-ball rate, but has struggled mightily this season. Across eight starts and 38 1/3 innings, Koehler has pitched to a 7.08 ERA, with 7.26 K/9, 4.46 BB/9 and a 37.1 percent grounder rate. Koehler, 31 in June, is making $5.75MM and will be arbitration eligible for the last time over the winter.
  • Teams in need of relief help are eyeing Braves closer Jim Johnson, according to Cafardo, who notes that some clubs are considering him as a setup man. The 33-year-old has plenty of experience in both roles and is amid his second straight productive season, having logged a 3.48 ERA, 9.58 K/9, 1.74 BB/9 and a 57.4 percent grounder mark in 20 2/3 innings. He’s making $4.5MM this year and is due another $4.5MM next season.

East Notes: Hardy, Swihart, Wilson, Johnson, Scherzer

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Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy underwent an MRI yesterday and a CT scan today due to back spasms that have been troubling him since late January, Hardy himself told reporters (via Peter Schmuck and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). Hardy has had back spasms in the past but doesn’t seem overly concerned by the injury, stating that they feel “similar to everything I’ve had in the past.” At this juncture, there doesn’t sound to be cause for significant concern, but the situation is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

A few more notes out of the game’s eastern divisions …

  • Spring Training is off to a rocky start for Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Though it’s obviously still early, Swihart has struggled badly with getting the ball back to the pitcher. As Drellich explains, that’s perhaps of particular concern here: Swihart is reacclimating to life behind the dish after a stint in the outfield (and then on the DL) in 2016 and has always faced questions about his defensive abilities.
  • The Rays have some interest in newly knuckleballing righty Brian Wilson, according to Marc Topkin and Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. Once a power late-inning reliever, Wilson has battled injuries and hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014. Tampa Bay has dedicated resources to finding and developing knucklers, and trying out the soon-to-be-35-year-old would at least represent a fun-to-follow experiment.
  • Speaking of former closers, Jim Johnson will enter camp with a firm hold on the 9th inning for the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Atlanta extended the 33-year-old after his strong finish to the 2016 season, which included a run as the Braves’ closer. Johnson finished the year with 64 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball on his ledger, supported by a surprising 9.5 K/9. A repeat of that strikeout rate seems unlikely, as Johnson’s 7.7% swinging-strike rate fell below the league average and right at his career mark, but he continues to induce plenty of groundballs.
  • After telling reporters yesterday that he was still experiencing symptoms from his broken right ring finger, Nationals righty Max Scherzer took part in a seemingly productive long toss session today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was among those to tweet. While it still seems likely that he’ll be delayed, and may not quite be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, it’s encouraging that Scherzer is not being held back entirely from throwing. The reigning National League Cy Young winner had been expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were already iced when the news emerged that he had been diagnosed with the fractured digit.

Braves, Jim Johnson Agree To Two-Year Extension

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TODAY: Johnson’s contract is worth $10MM in guaranteed money, The Associated Press reports.  He will be paid $4.5MM in 2017 and 2018, with a $1MM signing bonus.  The righty can earn up to $1.75MM in performance bonuses each season based on games finished.  Johnson earns $250K for finishing 30 games, and then another $250K for hitting each of the 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60-game thresholds.

OCTOBER 2: Braves reliever Jim Johnson could have hit free agency during the offseason, but the 33-year-old will instead continue his career in Atlanta. He and the Braves have agreed to a two-year contract extension, according to a team announcement. Financial details are not yet available, but the deal will keep the Moye Sports Associates client under Atlanta’s control through the 2018 season.

Jim Johnson

Johnson is amid his second stint as a Brave after signing a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the club last offseason. That ended up being a bargain for the rebuilding Braves, as Johnson has logged a 3.11 ERA, 9.33 K/9 and 2.83 BB/9 over 63 2/3 innings. Johnson has also kept up a career-long trend of inducing ground balls, having posted a 55 percent mark, and added 19 saves on 22 chances. Overall, 2016 has been a major bounce-back season for Johnson, who fared poorly with the Tigers, Athletics and Dodgers during the previous two campaigns.

Despite his struggles elsewhere, Johnson has clearly found a home in Atlanta. Previously, he recorded a 2.25 ERA over 48 innings with the team in 2015 before it traded him to Los Angeles in July. Part of the reason for Johnson’s success with the Braves is his strong relationship with pitching coach Roger McDowell, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). Going forward, the longtime Oriole – who has 153 career saves – said Sunday the plan is for him to remain as the Braves’ closer, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). That means Johnson will continue leading a bullpen cast that should include the likes of Ian Krol, Arodys Vizcaino and Mauricio Cabrera, among others, in 2017.

It’s unknown how much interest Johnson would have garnered as a free agent, of course, but playoff contenders were zeroing in on him as a trade target over the summer. In fact, a deal nearly came to fruition in late July, and the Blue Jays, Mets and Rangers were among the clubs that eyed Johnson in advance of the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. An unidentified team also claimed Johnson on revocable waivers in August, but the Braves pulled him back after they and the other club weren’t able to agree on a trade. Now, after nearly joining his sixth major league team over the summer, he’s primed to stay in Atlanta for the next couple years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Braves Pull Jim Johnson Back After Waiver Claim; Jeff Francoeur Clears Revocable Waivers

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Outfielder Jeff Francoeur and right-hander Jim Johnson were both placed on revocable trade waivers by the Braves this week, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, though their placements had very different outcomes. Francoeur cleared waivers and is now free to be traded to any team, whereas Johnson was claimed off waivers and ultimately pulled back after a trade could not be worked out.

[Related: How August Trades work]

Johnson, 33, was somewhat surprisingly not traded prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver deadline, and he’ll now remain in Atlanta for the remainder of the year, it seems. (The Braves could put him back on waivers, but the waivers would no longer be revocable, and an affordable right-hander with Johnson’s results certainly wouldn’t clear.) While the former Orioles closer struggled following a 2015 trade to the Dodgers and got off to a rough start in 2016 after re-signing in Atlanta, he’s been nothing short of excellent since his activation from the disabled list in early June. Since that time, Johnson has a 1.57 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 28 2/3 innings. Considering his $2.5MM salary and those recent results, it’s hardly surprising that he drew interest (or, at least, was claimed by one contender to block others from adding him). Heyman doesn’t specify which club placed the claim on Johnson, but it’s worth noting that the Mets were said to have claimed a reliever earlier this week, and given the lack of news since the reporting of that claim, no deal was reached.

While there’s a school of thought that the Braves should’ve been willing to move Johnson for virtually anything due to his status as an impending free agent, Atlanta clearly didn’t feel it received anything of long-term value before or after the non-waiver trade deadline. And, there’s some benefit to Johnson serving as a steadying force as the team’s interim closer with Arodys Vizcaino on the shelf while providing some leadership for younger arms in the ’pen. (It’s also possible that the Braves could explore an extension for Johnson, as he’s performed well in each of the last two seasons while wearing their uniform.)

That line of thinking — valuing veteran leadership over fringe prospects or mild salary relief — was reportedly a large factor in the Braves’ decision not to trade Francoeur prior to the non-waiver deadline. Atlanta was said to only be willing to move Francoeur for a legitimate return. While that doesn’t indicate that the Braves were demanding a top 10 type of prospect from the systems of rival clubs, it does suggest that they weren’t willing to move him for what would amount to a warm body that would simply fill a minor league roster spot. The same thinking almost certainly applied to Johnson in this instance.

Francoeur could yet draw some interest from other teams, though a trade doesn’t seem overly likely based on Atlanta’s reported asking price. The 32-year-old has a lackluster .247/.287/.387 batting line on the season overall, though his .280/.320/.432 slash against left-handed pitching could be a genuine asset on a contending club’s bench down the stretch.

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