Daniel

Johnson

Johnson’s stint with the Astros wound up lasting nearly two weeks as he went 2-for-14 at the plate in eight contests. The 30-year-old journeyman was summoned to the big leagues after injuries wiped out nearly all of Houston’s outfield depth.

The Astros can’t afford another hit to their outfield depth. Harris was hit by a pitch on the left hand during a fifth-inning at-bat before leaving the contest. Journeyman reserve outfielder Daniel Johnson, who signed a minor league contract literally two days ago, took over in left field. You can’t make this stuff up.

Johnson was just signed to a minor league contract by the Astros on Sunday, and now the 30-year-old will get a chance to help the Houston bench after Taylor Trammell was placed on the injured list with a groin strain.

The 30-year-old journeyman outfielder was released by the Marlins a couple of weeks ago. He’ll add extra outfield depth at Triple-A Sugar Land for the Astros.

Johnson was in Marlins camp as a non-roster invitee this spring after appearing in a career-high 31 games between the Orioles and Giants last year. The well-traveled 30-year-old is a decent emergency stopgap solution as a reserve outfielder but that’s pretty much it at this juncture of his career.

Snelling’s path to a spot in Miami’s season-opening rotation spot evaporated following the addition of Chris Paddack earlier this spring but he still looked sharp in a handful of Grapefruit League outings. It’ll come down to either Braxton Garrett or Janson Junk for the final spot in the rotation. The 22-year-old southpaw is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and should be fantasy relevant once he arrives in the big leagues given his strikeout upside and pitcher-friendly home ballpark. He’s a name to keep on early-season watch lists, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Johnson heads to Miami to compete for a bench spot in spring training after batting .189/.246/.302 with one homer and two steals in 57 plate appearances over 31 games split between the Orioles and Giants this past season. The 30-year-old journeyman has settled in as the quintessential emergency depth outfielder capable of handling all three outfield spots in pinch while providing some intrigue as a power/speed combo threat at the plate.

Dubin appears likely to avoid offseason surgery after finishing the season on the shelf with elbow discomfort. The 30-year-old looked sharp in seven late-season appearances after coming over from the Astros.

Johnson got into 17 games for Baltimore last season and went 5-for-24. The former Guardians prospect has hit .196/.243/.322 in 152 career plate appearances since debuting in 2020.

Johnson will likely finish the year in Triple-A with Tyler O’Neill (wrist) activated off the injured list. He’ll compete for organizational depth with Baltimore or another organization in 2026.