Chris Johnson

Wouldn't it have made more sense to see his performance this year and then evaluate?

Yes. But the issue with that is what if he hit .320 again and emulated last season. He would have probably wanted a higher contract and could have tested the free agent waters.
 
The only positive to me in the Johnson contract is that it's "dumpable." I don't hold him in very high regard, which is obvious from my previous comments, and I thought the extension was short-sighted, especially for a supposedly cash-strapped team. His production is replaceable.

zito, good list and there has been contract inflation, making value/$ more difficult to discern. I agree with gilesfan that it is hard to make comparisons with pitchers (who are fueling most of the contract inflation) and catchers (where defense and other factors play a heavier role in determining less-quantifiable value) with other position players. The big difference with Infante (where I thought length of contract is the only problem) is that if he comes up short as a regular at any one position, he still has value as a multi-position bench guy. If Johnson doesn't start at 3B, his value goes way down. He can't be a defensive replacement and he can't play positions other than 3B. I don't know how he'd do as a pinch-hitter, but I don't think he has enough power to have value as a DH in the AL. He's a really one-dimensional player and when he's on, that dimension can be valuable, but he's just not worth extending. And I'm actually someone who gives batting average more credence than a lot of the nouveau analysts who discount it.
 
Not even going to try to compare Johnson to 2 pitchers and 2 catchers. Infante is a better player though.

Well there's a point to that. But generally catchers because of breaking down don't get paid quite as well. McCann would have gotten paid more with his pedigree if there wasn't a break down concern.
 
Crap, I thought this was a Cody Johnson thread...

Just checked and it appears Cody Johnson is finally out of baseball. I wasn't as big a Roy Clark guy as many, but I'll admit he was good. But he must have had retinitis pigmentosa the week he was scouting Johnson.
 
What baffles me with Johnson is is first pitch swing and misses (sems high-anyone got the #'s?). With two strikes CJ appears to be trying to make contact, but on first pitches its the big swing. But no HR's. K rate is still high but he seems to have 2 strikes on virtually every AB.
 
For the people saying non-tender him, who plays 3B if not CJ.

3B is ridiculousally weak league-wide, our system doesnt have much ready there.

You cant have a superstar at every spot on the field.

The extension is a slight overpay but nothing drastic and the contract is moveable.
 
I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that CJ isn't very good...the guy has hit into almost as many double plays (11) as he has extra base hits (13). Last year was a fluke, and we all knew he was due for major regression this season.

I'm also not sure why Wren felt the need to extend him. He would have been a strong non-tender candidate after this season, but now the team is stuck with him.

Who plays 3B if you non-tender him?

3B is so weak, there really isnt alot of top options out there.
 
Chris Johnson's underlying level is not as good as his 2013 season and not at bad as his 2014 season so far. If you want an accurate snapshot of his underlying level take a look at his career numbers or his 2012 season numbers. He's about a 1-1.5 WAR per season player. He's an acceptable placeholder at third given the lack of alternatives.

As far as the contract goes, I don't think it is as bad as some people make it out to be. The arbitration system overpays players with his profile (good batting average, lack of secondary hitting skills such as power and walks, poor defense). Wren overpaid relative to his likely productivity as measured by WAR or similar systems. But he saved some money relative to how Johnson could have been expected to do in arbitration.

I don't think Johnson will fall off the cliff like Uggla did. So I think we should be able to trade him and his contract when we find a better alternative.
 
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