Kelly Johnson Day-To-Day With Bruised Fingers

The jinx strikes again!  I write about how Kelly Johnson is coming on and deserves to be in the lineup every day and pow!  He takes a pitch off the right hand trying to bunt in the 6th last night, leaves the game, and might miss a few more with bruised fingers.

Why Johnson was even being asked to bunt in that situation is beyond me, but the good news is that X-rays were negative and the injury is bruises instead of breaks.  Joe seemed like he had been coming around to the idea of going with Johnson more and Solarte less, evidenced by his decision to start KJ last night.  A quick recovery to get Johnson's bat back in there would be the best possible outcome here.

Kelly Johnson Is Starting To Get Some Shine

("Thanks for the at-bats, guy."  Courtesy of Getty Images)

When the offseason ended and the Yankee roster started to take shape over ST, it looked like Kelly Johnson was going to be an important piece.  He could play a lot of positions, he could play the infield ones well, he had left-handed power.  He was like Joe's "Draw 4" Wild card in Uno that he could use at any time in any situation.  Then Yangervis Solarte came out hitting like a maniac and Brian Roberts' switch-hitting body managed to stay healthy enough to play and suddenly KJ was the odd man out, getting his only playing time when Teix was hurt and he had to play out of position at first.

Now Solarte is really slumping at the plate, Roberts' body is banged up, and Johnson finds himself back in his regular position getting regular playing time.  He's been a fixture in the bottom of the batting the last few games and could finally be starting to settle into the role he should have been playing all along.

Why Is Kelly Johnson's Role Shrinking?

(Have you seen this man?  Courtesy of Getty Images)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

Between not finding suitable everyday options for second and third base and finding even fewer for a backup at first base, the general consensus was that Kelly Johnson was going to be an important part of the infield this year.  At the end of Spring Training, he was the starter at third, the backup and perfect world best man for the job at second, and the backup for Teix at first as declared by Joe.  As a guy who'd spent the better part of the last 4 seasons either at second or in left field, that was a lot to handle, and if we're being fair, I think Johnson has done a nice job handling what was asked of him in the first month of the season.  He's played a pretty good third, a decent first, and he's provided the left-handed pop the Yanks were hoping for when they signed him (4 2B, 3 HR in 69 PA).  So why has he seen his playing time decrease so much in the last 2 weeks?

Tuesday Morning Food For Thought: Kelly Johnson, Third Baseman

16 games, 118.0 innings.

That's all the experience Kelly Johnson has at third base.  And all of it came last year with the Rays.  Maybe I'm just dumb, but I didn't realize that was all he had at third.  I assumed he had spent a little more time there throughout his career.  Turns out he hasn't, and now that it sounds like he's going to be the mostly everyday starter there in place of A-Rod, the Yankees want him to spend more time this spring getting used to the position.

For what it's worth, Johnson registered 1 defensive run saved and a 24.4 UZR/150 in his 118 innings at the hot corner last year.  Based on that small sample size, he seems capable of handling the job.  As is the case with other players and other roles this season, we won't truly know if he is until we see him do it every day.

Report: Kelly Johnson Signing A Done Deal

There was little reason to expect otherwise after the news first came out, but the deal between the Yankees and Kelly Johnson was agreed to yesterday and Johnson will be donning the pinstripes next year.  Jon Heyman had the confirmation, reporting that it is a 1-year deal for $3 million and is still pending a physical.

I touched on Johnson a little bit yesterday and I'll get into more detail on him soon.  The bottom line is he can play all over the field, hold his own defensively in all those spots, and he offers some legit pop and plus offensive value from the left side of the plate.  I'm sure there's some thought of using this signing to put more pressure on Robbie going on in the front office, but Johnson is the type of versatile player the Yankees need on the roster next year regardless of whether Robbie comes back or not.  Another good signing for sure.