James Robert Johnson (born June 27, 1983) is an American former
professional baseball relief pitcher. He has played in
Major League Baseball (MLB) for the
Baltimore Orioles,
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
,
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
,
Atlanta Braves,
Los Angeles Dodgers and
Los Angeles Angels. Johnson was an
All-Star in 2012 and won the
Rolaids Relief Man Award that year while leading MLB in
saves. In 2013, Johnson became the first American League (AL) pitcher ever to have recorded back-to-back seasons of 50 saves or more. Johnson and
Éric Gagné are the only two MLB pitchers to accomplish this feat.
Early life
Johnson was born in
Johnson City, New York. He was raised in
Endicott, New York, and graduated from
Union Endicott High School
Union-Endicott High School (UEHS) is a public high school located in Endicott, New York. The school, a part of the Union-Endicott Central School District, enrolls 1,280 students from 9-12 and has a student/teacher ratio of 12.8:1. Union-Endicott ...
in 2001.
Baseball career
Baltimore Orioles
The
Baltimore Orioles drafted Johnson in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the
2001 MLB draft
The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6.
First round selections
Supplemental First Round Selections
Compensation Picks
Background
On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...
. He made his major league debut on July 29, 2006 against the
Chicago White Sox, allowing eight earned runs in three innings for the loss. In 2007, he again only made one Major League appearance.
Johnson began the 2008 season in the
Triple-A Norfolk Tides starting rotation, but was called up to the Orioles on April 12. Pitching middle and late
relief, he ran up 18 consecutive scoreless innings before giving up a 10th inning run to
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
on May 5.
[Topic Galleries](_blank)
''Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
''. Retrieved April 9, 2012. He became the interim
closer when
George Sherrill went on the disabled list on August 19, 2008. Johnson finished the season 2–4 with one save and a 2.23 ERA in 54 games.
Johnson was given the closer role on July 30, 2009, when Sherrill was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished with 10 saves, but his ERA rose higher, finishing at 4.11 in 70 innings of relief.
In the 2010 season, he returned to a setup role. Late in the 2011 season, Johnson won the closer role from
Kevin Gregg.
On January 16, 2012, Johnson signed a one-year deal worth $2.625 million, avoiding arbitration. He won the
Delivery Man of the Month Award for May 2012. On July 1, 2012, Johnson was one of three Orioles selected to play in the
2012 All Star Game. On September 21, 2012, Johnson set the Orioles' all-time single season save record at 46, passing
Randy Myers. Johnson recorded his 50th save of the season on September 30 during a victory over the
Boston Red Sox. With the win, Baltimore clinched a postseason berth, and Johnson became the 10th pitcher in MLB history to record 50 saves or more. He finished the season with 51 saves.
He won the AL
Rolaids Relief Man Award.
Johnson had a mediocre postseason debut through four games in the
2012 American League Division Series
The 2012 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card ...
against the
New York Yankees. Johnson struggled in Game 1 of the series at
Camden Yards, entering in the ninth inning of a 2–2 game and surrendering five runs (four earned) in only of an inning. The Yankees won, 7–2. He gained redemption in Game 2, pitching a perfect ninth inning to preserve a 3–2 advantage, striking out
Alex Rodriguez on a 3–2 count to end the game. Johnson pitched again in Game 3 in the
Bronx and surrendered a game-tying home run to
Raúl Ibañez with one out in the ninth inning. (Ibañez would also win the game on a homer in the 12th. off of
Brian Matusz.) Johnson earned a successful save in game four, working a scoreless 13th inning.
Johnson recorded his 100th career save against the New York Yankees on June 30, 2013.
Oakland Athletics
On December 2, 2013, Johnson was traded to the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
for infielder
Jemile Weeks and a
player to be named later, identified as
David Freitas
David Joseph Freitas (born March 18, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Milwaukee Brew ...
on December 12. The deal was considered to be a salary dump by the Orioles, since Johnson was projected to make $10.8 million in baseball
arbitration
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...
, according to MLB Trade Rumors. His 2014 salary wound up being $10 million. Johnson's first season with the A's began poorly, as he earned a blown save and two losses in his first two appearances with the club. After five appearances and an ERA of 18.90, Johnson was pulled from the closer role on April 11, in favor of fellow relievers such as
Luke Gregerson and
Sean Doolittle. Johnson was designated for assignment on July 24, and released by the club on August 1. In 38 games with Oakland, he was 4–2 with two saves and a 7.14 ERA.
Detroit Tigers
On August 5, 2014, Johnson signed a minor-league contract with the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
. On August 16, the Tigers called up Johnson to the main roster. To make room on the 25-man roster, the Tigers optioned
Melvin Mercedes
Melvin Mercedes (born November 2, 1990) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in one game for the Detroit Tigers on August 15, 2014.
Professional career Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers pu ...
back to Triple-A Toledo, and to make room on the 40-man roster, the Tigers designated
Kevin Whelan for assignment. Johnson made his debut for the Tigers on August 17 against the
Seattle Mariners, coming in to pitch the sixth inning and allowing two hits, three runs, one walk, and one strikeout in innings. In 16 games with the Tigers, he was 1–0 with a 6.92 ERA.
Atlanta Braves
Johnson signed a one–year contract worth $1.6 million with the
Atlanta Braves on December 3, 2014. Johnson, who had been the set-up man for most of the year, was called on to be the closer after
Jason Grilli was injured on July 11, two days before the
All-Star break.
In 49 games, he was 2–3 with nine saves and a 2.25 ERA.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, the
Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Johnson,
Mat Latos,
Michael Morse,
Bronson Arroyo,
Alex Wood,
Luis Avilán
Luis Armando Avilán (born July 19, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, ...
, and
José Peraza, while the
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo,
Jeff Brigham
Jeff John Brigham (born February 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Miami Marlins.
Career
Brigham attended Thomas Jefferson High Sch ...
, and Kevin Guzman, and the Braves received
Héctor Olivera,
Paco Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird and a competitive balance draft pick for the
2016 MLB draft
The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams.
The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...
. He struggled with the Dodgers, going 0–3 while allowing 22 runs in innings (10.13 ERA). He did not make the postseason roster and the Dodgers designated him for assignment on October 14, 2015.
Atlanta Braves (second stint)
On November 30, 2015, Johnson signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal to return to the Braves. For the final week of July 2016, Johnson earned NL Player of the Week honors. He finished the 2016 season with a 2–6 record, 20 saves and 3.06 ERA, his lowest since 2013, in 65 games.
Johnson then signed a two-year extension on October 2, 2016. He struggled the following season with the Braves, going 6–5 with 22 saves and a 5.56 ERA.
He also recorded nine blown saves.
Los Angeles Angels
On November 30, 2017, the Braves traded Johnson and $1.21 million in international bonus signing cash to the
Los Angeles Angels in return for minor league pitcher Justin Kelly. In his first season with the Angels, Johnson appeared in 62 games, going 5–3 with two saves while registering an ERA of 3.84 in innings.
He elected free agency on October 29.
Pitching style
Johnson throws four pitches, leading with a hard
sinker averaging . His main off-speed pitch to right-handed hitters is a
curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
averaging about . Against lefties, Johnson adds an upper-80s
changeup. Lastly, he throws an occasional
four-seam fastball in the mid 90s.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jim
1983 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
American League saves champions
Atlanta Braves players
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from New York (state)
Bluefield Orioles players
Bowie Baysox players
Delmarva Shorebirds players
Detroit Tigers players
Frederick Keys players
Gulf Coast Orioles players
Los Angeles Angels players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Norfolk Tides players
Oakland Athletics players
People from Endicott, New York
Phoenix Desert Dogs players
Toledo Mud Hens players