DJ Johnson (baseball) explained

DJ Johnson
Position:Pitcher
Team:High Point Rockers
Number:36
Birth Date:30 August 1989
Birth Place:Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.
Bats:Left
Throws:Right
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:September 9
Debutyear:2018
Debutteam:Colorado Rockies
Debut2league:NPB
Debut2date:July 10
Debut2year:2020
Debut2team:Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Statyear:2021 season
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Win–loss record
Stat1value:1–2
Stat2label:Earned run average
Stat2value:4.54
Stat3label:Strikeouts
Stat3value:38
Stat2year:2020 season
Stat2league:NPB
Stat21label:Win–loss record
Stat21value:1–0
Stat22label:Earned run average
Stat22value:3.81
Stat23label:Strikeouts
Stat23value:29
Teams:

Daniel Stuart Johnson (born August 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians and Tampa Bay Rays and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Amateur career

Johnson attended Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon.[1] He attended Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon for two years (2008 and 2009).[1] He then attended Western Oregon University in 2010. An injury kept him from pitching that season, and poor grades limited him to just 11 games played as a position player.[2]

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

Undrafted after his junior year of college, Johnson signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24, 2010, after being noticed by a scout at a local American Legion exhibition game.[2] He played for the GCL Rays in 2010. He was released by the Rays on April 20, 2011.

Arizona Diamondbacks

He then signed and played for the Traverse City Beach Bums of the independent baseball Frontier League, until signing a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 5, 2011.[2] He spent the 2011 through 2013 seasons in the Arizona system, playing for the South Bend Silver Hawks and the Visalia Rawhide.[2] Johnson did not appear in a game in 2013; instead rehabbing a torn Teres Major muscle, that occurred during the 2012 season.[2]

Minnesota Twins

Johnson was released by Arizona after the 2013 season, and again played for Traverse City to start the 2014 season. He signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on July 28, 2014 and remained in their system through the 2015 season. He played for the Fort Myers Miracle and the Chattanooga Lookouts while with the Twins.

Los Angeles Angels

Johnson signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins on November 24, 2015, but was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 draft on December 10.[3] He made 47 appearances for the Double–A Arkansas Travelers in 2016, compiling a 4.02 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 6 saves across innings pitched.[4] Johnson elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016.[5]

Colorado Rockies

Johnson signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies on November 18, 2016. He spent the 2017 season with the Hartford Yard Goats. Johnson spent the 2018 minor league season with the Albuquerque Isotopes.[4]

Johnson was called up to the major leagues for the first time on September 4, 2018 and made he debut five days later on September 9.[6]

In 2019, Johnson made the Rockies' Opening Day roster.[7] Johnson was released by the Rockies on October 23, 2019 to seek an opportunity in Japan.[8]

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On October 25, 2019, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball.(NPB)[9] [10] On July 10, 2020, Johnson made his NPB debut.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On September 21, 2020, Johnson was traded to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in exchange for cash. In 16 appearances for the Eagles, he logged a 3.07 ERA with 16 strikeouts. On December 2, 2020, Johnson became a free agent.[11]

Cleveland Indians

On February 2, 2021, Johnson was signed by the Cleveland Indians to a minor league contract.[12] He began the 2021 season with the Columbus Clippers, the Indians' Triple-A affiliate.

In May 2021, Johnson was named to the roster of the United States national baseball team for the Americas Qualifying Event.[13]

On July 7, 2021, Johnson was selected to the 40-man roster and added to the Indians’ active roster.[14]

Tampa Bay Rays (second stint)

On July 30, 2021, Johnson was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Jordan Luplow in exchange for Peyton Battenfield.[15] On August 16, Johnson was placed on the 60-day injured list with a sprained right shoulder, with manager Kevin Cash noting that he would miss "significant time."[16] On November 5, Johnson was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency.[17]

High Point Rockers

On January 11, 2024, after two years of inactivity, Johnson signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.[18] However, he was released prior to the start of the LMB season on April 1.[19]

On August 14, 2024, Johnson signed with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.[20]

Personal life

After the 2016 season, Johnson was not offered a contract by the Angels, and he worked at a lumber yard that offseason before being signed by the Rockies.[21]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corvallis Knights Alum DJ Johnson Takes Long Road to Major Leagues. corvallisknights.com. October 2018. June 11, 2019.
  2. Web site: Rare injury puts Sunset-grad D.J. Johnson's rise through Diamondbacks' system on pause. Tyson Alger. oregonlive.com. The Oregonian. August 9, 2013. June 11, 2019.
  3. Web site: Angels expect Rule 5 picks Deolis Guerra and Ji-Man Choi to make big-league team. Mike Digiovanna. Los Angeles Times. December 10, 2015. June 11, 2019.
  4. Web site: DJ Johnson Player Page. MLB.com. June 11, 2019.
  5. Web site: Minor League Free Agents 2016. July 22, 2024. baseballamerica.com. en.
  6. Web site: More September call-ups for Rockies: Garrett Hampson, Sam Howard, Raimel Tapia and DJ Johnson. 4 September 2018.
  7. Web site: Rockies' 29-year-old rookie DJ Johnson living out his big-league dream on opening day. Patrick Saunders. The Denver Post. March 27, 2019. June 11, 2019.
  8. Web site: Rox reliever Johnson to pursue career in Japan. MLB.com. Thomas Harding. October 23, 2019. October 23, 2019.
  9. Web site: DJ・ジョンソン選手、選手契約合意! . 広島東洋カープ 公式サイト . Japanese . October 25, 2019 . December 22, 2019 . December 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191222080731/https://www.carp.co.jp/news19/n-352.html . dead .
  10. Web site: Hiroshima Carp Sign DJ Johnson. Dylan A. Chase. MLB Trade Rumors. October 25, 2019. October 25, 2019.
  11. Web site: 2020年度 自由契約選手 . NPB.jp 日本野球機構 . Japanese . January 9, 2021 .
  12. Web site: Transactions . Indians.com . 3 February 2021.
  13. News: Team USA Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster . usabaseball.com . May 30, 2021 . June 1, 2021.
  14. Web site: Indians Place Eddie Rosario on 10-Day IL, Select DJ Johnson.
  15. Web site: In 2 deals, Indians trade Eddie, get Straw. MLB.com. July 30, 2021. Mandy. Bell.
  16. Web site: Rays' DJ Johnson: Moves to 60-day IL.
  17. Web site: Phillies Claim Ryan Sherriff from Rays.
  18. Web site: Leones: Llega a Yucatán DJ Johnson. January 14, 2024. milb.com. en.
  19. Web site: LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 1 de abril de 2024. April 2, 2024. milb.com. en.
  20. Web site: Transactions. August 14, 2024. baseball.pointstreak.com. en.
  21. Web site: From minor league stadiums across the nation to an Ohio lumber yard, Rockies' reliever DJ Johnson persevered for first big league opportunity. Kyle Newman. The Denver Post. September 7, 2018. June 11, 2019.