Stephen

Johnson

Johnson is now off the Reds’ 40-man roster. The 25-year-old right-hander holds an ugly 5.72 ERA in 28 1/3 innings of relief this season at the Triple-A level.

The 26-year-old hurler was cut loose by the Reds at the end of spring training. He registered a 4.82 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 63/40 K/BB ratio over 74 2/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville in 2016.

Johnson has pitched exclusively as a reliever in the minors, posting a 3.68 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 over 157 appearances. He has a big arm, but control has been an issue for him. The 24-year-old has been pitching at the Double-A level this year.

He held a 6.75 ERA over four appearances this spring. Johnson could be a factor in the Reds’ bullpen at some point this season.

The Reds acquired Johnson from the Giants as part of the Marlon Byrd trade in late August. While he held a shiny 10.7 K/9 in relief work between the Giants’ and Reds’ Double-A squads, he also walked 31 in 66 2/3 innings. The hard-throwing 24-year-old will have to iron out those control issues, but he’s at least protected from the Rule 5 Draft.