Braves Sign Jim Johnson To MLB Contract

[Tapate50]

You could see it in his eyes. He looked terrified most of the time.

Well, we need to hire an on field Optometrists and this problem is solved.

[Dalyn]

Well, we need to hire an on field Optometrists and this problem is solved.

He'd probably pitch better blind than he did last year.

[Carp]

There goes half the money we cleared from Walden.

Half the pitcher too

Walden wasn't about just clearing money. He also was a key component to acquiring Miller/Jenkins. And Jenkins is one of our 2 best pitching prospects now. And 1.6 million for a one year deal is hardly relevant.

Not saying it's a good signing. To me its rather meh. But let's not throw tantrums for giving 1.6 million to a middle reliever.

[Carp]

Like the Lester rumors, it does seem oddly the opposite of "budget conscious."

1.6 million for 1 yr is hardly wreckless spending. We needed relief help for this coming season. Even if you think we could have gotten him for league minimum, it's a difference of like 1 million.

Not a great sign at first glance. But not really relevant to our plan to rebuild. If he has a great 1st half, may be we can spin him for a spect or two.

[sturg33]

Walden wasn't about just clearing money. He also was a key component to acquiring Miller/Jenkins. And Jenkins is one of our 2 best pitching prospects now. And 1.6 million for a one year deal is hardly relevant.

Not saying it's a good signing. To me its rather meh. But let's not throw tantrums for giving 1.6 million to a middle reliever.

I'm not sure my post constitutes "throwing a tantrum"

[jpx7]

Walden wasn't about just clearing money. He also was a key component to acquiring Miller/Jenkins. And Jenkins is one of our 2 best pitching prospects now. And 1.6 million for a one year deal is hardly relevant.

Not saying it's a good signing. To me its rather meh. But let's not throw tantrums for giving 1.6 million to a middle reliever.

At that price, at this time, in the context of this offseason, it's a fair move to question, if not outright criticize—but doing either is hardly tantamount to "throw[ing] tantrums".

[Chico]

It does seem like an odd move, but since we traded away Walden I could see the desire to have another vet back there that's worked the late innings. I really like guys like Simmons, Shreve, Vizcaino, and Hale but that's a young pen. This also allows us to include Carpenter in a trade if we see fit, which I think we will do.

One thing I'm trying to keep in mind is we brought in an entirely new staff. These are all guys who play the "If I were GM" game in their heads and they are going to have some recommendations on guys based on previous knowledge.

[bravebonebook]

Since Johnson is guaranteed a 25-man roster spot no matter what happens or how he pitches , then this signing is a complete travesty. Also, it seems like in MLB the last few years, $1 million plus change is what you typically spend on any big leaguer you want to "take a gamble on". He's simply bullpen fodder that may or may not do well this year.

We are experts at automatically expecting the worst for the team and not even waiting until the games start.

(PS: the first sentence is sracastic; notice the eyes?)

[NinersSBChamps]

Are people really up in arms over a signing like this? It's for a tiny fraction of the projected budget and can be worth a sliver more if he hits certain clauses in the deal. Meaning he is probably pitching well. Besides its not like he automatically takes over Walden's spot. Back off the ledge, folks.

[gilesfan]

Nice move; he should be a key contributor in 2017.

[UNCBlue012]

Are people really up in arms over a signing like this? It's for a tiny fraction of the projected budget and can be worth a sliver more if he hits certain clauses in the deal. Meaning he is probably pitching well. Besides its not like he automatically takes over Walden's spot. Back off the ledge, folks.

Seriously. I think it's actually a pretty nice little deal. But, everyone is still trying to kill themselves because our savior, Jason Heyward, is gone. I miss the heck out of the dude, but it is what it is. Let's make some needed moves and move on.

[Heyward]

Umm why not just keep Walden?

Maybe Roger can work his magic but not a ton of money or mine.

[nsacpi]

We've found our ground ball inducing ROOGY for 2015. Hopefully Fredi will understand how to use him.

[50PoundHead]

Have to wait for the monetary terms before making any judgments, to be sure.

I kind of hated when we signed Antonio Alfonseca, and he ended up being pretty good for us, not to mention a hell of a lot of fun.

But Antonio had six fingers. The novelty effect alone was worth it.

$1.6 MM is hardly anything when you consider that the Braves gave Tanyon $750,000 to not pitch an inning back in 2007.

[goldfly]

Hopefully Fredi will understand how to use him.

thanks for the laugh

[blueagleace1]

Just want give my two cents (for what it's worth) on this signing (And I apologize if I repeat what anyone else has said, I didn't read any of the previous responses)...

First off let me say that I realize Jim Johnson had a terrible 2014 season but I would have to imagine that last year was just a "fluke" or a somewhat rare bad season and after he gets with Roger McDowell that we can expect numbers closer to his career average and even similar to his 2011-2013 seasons. I really like this signing and for multiple reasons which I will explain below:

1.) If the Braves remain competitive -competing for a WC spot- then Jim Johnson brings a couple things to the table that could be very beneficial to our team. First and foremost, Johnson -except this past season- has been a very solid relief pitcher who is capable of pitching at the back end of our bullpen. One thing that Johnson has going for him that most other relief pitchers don't have -I'm referring to free agents that will be in a similar price range- is closing experience. Coming of back-to-back 50+ save years in 2012-2013, Johnson will gives us someone else besides Kimbrel with closing experience and that could prove beneficial if Kimbrel is unavailable in a certain game (say he's gone 3 days in a row) and a save opportunity arises. Johnson also has a 57.8% career ground ball rate and never had a season below 51%. This is something we have severely lacked in the past few years -since Moylan really and Gearrin to an extent- and could be someone we call on to get us out of a jam by inducing a ground ball which in turn would lead to a double play.

2.) If the Braves fall out of contention around the trade deadline and Johnson has shown that last year was a fluke and he's producing closer to his career average numbers, he is someone you can market to clubs in need of a closer and possibly get a decent prospect in return.

3.) Let's say Roger McDowell isn't able to fix whatever mechanical flaw he has that made him go from All-Star closer to DFA'ed in one year, well you then simply part ways with him and all it cost you was $1.6 million -half of what Walden will make-. Now I'm not saying that $1.6 million is not a lot of money but I do believe it is a gamble worth taking because of the reward that you could possibly get.

So in the end, since I think our pitching guru Roger McDowell will get Johnson back closer to his 2012-2013 years, I truly believe this is a smart signing. We either get another back end bullpen arm to bridge the gap to Kimbrel while also inducing some DP balls or we get a tradable asset capable of netting us a prospect or two.