Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports that the Marlins “are expected to sign” third baseman/first baseman Chris Johnson, who was released by the Indians two weeks ago despite being owed $17.5 million on his contract.
Johnson was traded from Atlanta to Cleveland as part of a swap of bad contracts that saw Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher go back to the Braves, so the Indians never really intended for him to be part of their long-term plans.
Johnson has been productive at times thanks to a sky-high batting average on balls in play, but once that luck wore off his horrible plate discipline and mediocre power left him as a .261 hitter with a .644 OPS in 2014/2015. He’ll compete for a bench spot in Miami and because Cleveland is on the hook for his previous contract Johnson will make the MLB minimum.
