Chris

Johnson

Johnson was in White Sox camp this spring on a minor league contract and only drew 15 plate appearances in Cactus League play. This could be the end of the line for the 34-year-old corner infielder, unless he maybe wants to take his talents to Asia.

Johnson sat out the entire 2018 season after posting a decent .301/.330/.506 batting line over 62 games with the Triple-A affiliate of the Orioles in 2017. He played in 839 major league games with five different clubs between 2009-2016. The 34-year-old was also exploring offers overseas earlier this winter and probably would have had a better shot at prominent playing time in Japan or South Korea. He’ll be a Triple-A player for Chicago.

Johnson, 34, didn’t play anywhere in 2018 after hitting .301/.330/.506 with 10 homers over 62 games for the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in 2017. Murray says that Johnson will meet with some Asian teams next week, as well, for possible opportunities overseas.

Johnson doubled leading off the second inning, but was stranded there, representing the last real threat that the Astros had against Cueto. It was a bit of a surprise when Johnson claimed the starting job at third base this spring, but he’s been relatively solid in the early going with a .275 average and eight RBI, though he has struck out 21 times in just 80 at-bats. He remains a non-factor in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues at this point.

Paredes has been dealing with left wrist inflammation since winter ball in January. “We’re going to have to monitor him real close,” said Astros manager Brad Mills. “He’s still a ways away.” Paredes batted .286/.320/.393 with two homers, 18 RBI, five stolen bases and a .713 OPS over 179 plate appearances at the the major league level last season. Barring any setbacks, the 23-year-old will compete Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace for the starting third base job this spring.

Johnson vastly outperformed Paredes to win the spot, batting .367/.367/.733 with a pair of home runs. But, while boasting pretty good raw power, Johnson isn’t a good bet to hit well enough to retain the job over the long haul. He batted just .251/.291/.378 with seven homers over 378 at-bats for Houston last season.

Johnson has been tearing the cover off of the ball in the early part of the season, hitting .304 with four homers and 19 RBI on the season. With all of the injuries going on at the third base position around the league, Johnson is quickly becoming a very valuable commodity in fantasy circles.

Johnson is up to .364/.375/.745 in 55 at-bats. His lack of strike-zone judgment figures to catch up to him once the games begin to matter, but his power could make him fairly useful in NL-only leagues in the early going.

Johnson is hitting .348 with four doubles and a homer in 23 at-bats. Jimmy Paredes hasn’t shown much of anything thus far, so Johnson might be able to win the third base job for the Astros. He’d still be a weak bet in NL-only leagues, though.

Johnson was one of the stars of the spring two years ago, when he hit eight homers and drove in 22 runs in 62 at-bats. He’ll probably need to do something similar this month to end up as Houston’s starting third baseman. He’s behind Jimmy Paredes at the moment and he’s facing competition from Brett Wallace and Matt Downs as well.