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The Padres have signed outfielder Daniel Johnson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.
Johnson, 27, was originally drafted by the Nationals but was traded to Cleveland in the 2018 deal that sent Yan Gomes to Washington. Johnson was able to get up to the majors with Cleveland, appearing in 35 games over the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He hit four home runs in that small sample but also struck out in 34% of his trips to the plate while walking in only 5.3% of them. His batting line in that time was .202/.245/.337 for a wRC+ of 52.
He was outrighted off the club’s roster after that 2021 season and was traded to the Mets in May of 2022. The latter club released him in July, which resulted in Johnson returning to the Nats on a minor league deal. All that bouncing around didn’t seem to suit him well, as he hit a combined .219/.268/.347 for the year. He was much better in Triple-A in 2021, hitting 14 home runs in 72 games and producing a .222/.314/.444 batting line.
Johnson will jump into San Diego’s outfield mix, which is in a temporary state of flux. Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to man right field eventually but won’t be eligible to play in the regular season until he serves the 20 games remaining on his suspension. For the time being, the likely configuration will have Juan Soto in left and Trent Grisham in center, with right field potentially occupied by players like Matt Carpenter, Adam Engel, José Azocar or Brandon Dixon. Johnson will look to fight his way onto the roster alongside other non-roster invitees such as David Dahl and Preston Tucker.
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