Cubs Sign Reed Johnson to 1-Year Deal (Updated)

[Little Slide Rooter]

Looking at his stats, they dont look much different than Matt Murtons if he were to play full time.

[KingCubsFan]

Good move in signing Johnson. I hope that we don't trade Murton just for the hell of it. I actually like both Murton and Johnson on the bench.

 

I don't see how that is possible. The only way that happens is if they go with 1 backup middle infielder, and I don't see anyway they pull that off. ....

 

With the normal 5-man bench, if one is a catcher and you burn one on a 1B-man (Ward), that leaves you 3 guys to cover infield and outfield. Either it's one outfielder (Johnson covering all three spots, supplemented by Ward or Cedeno), and two infielders (Cedeno and Cintron). Or it's one infielder (Cedeno) and two outfielders (Murton and Johnson).

 

Personally I don't see why going with Cedeno only wouldn't be just fine.

 

When's the last time a team went into a season with 1 backup infielder? When's the last time the Cubs even considered it? It's not going to happen. Cedeno only is impossible because of the "what happens if 2 go down in the same game" question. You can always throw Ward into the OF if need be, or DeRosa, but there's nobody on that roster that can step in at 3rd, SS or 2B if needed.

 

The smart thing to do is not waste a roster spot on a 7th reliever.

DeRosa and Cedeno can both play 2B and 3B. If someone goes down for an extended period, they can make the decision then.

[big_shooter17]

Good move in signing Johnson. I hope that we don't trade Murton just for the hell of it. I actually like both Murton and Johnson on the bench.

 

I don't see how that is possible. The only way that happens is if they go with 1 backup middle infielder, and I don't see anyway they pull that off. ....

 

With the normal 5-man bench, if one is a catcher and you burn one on a 1B-man (Ward), that leaves you 3 guys to cover infield and outfield. Either it's one outfielder (Johnson covering all three spots, supplemented by Ward or Cedeno), and two infielders (Cedeno and Cintron). Or it's one infielder (Cedeno) and two outfielders (Murton and Johnson).

 

Personally I don't see why going with Cedeno only wouldn't be just fine.

 

When's the last time a team went into a season with 1 backup infielder? When's the last time the Cubs even considered it? It's not going to happen. Cedeno only is impossible because of the "what happens if 2 go down in the same game" question. You can always throw Ward into the OF if need be, or DeRosa, but there's nobody on that roster that can step in at 3rd, SS or 2B if needed.

 

The smart thing to do is not waste a roster spot on a 7th reliever.

 

Exactly. As strong as our bullpen should be and with Lieber back there able to pitch several innings if necessary, there's no reason for 12 pitchers.

 

Adding to that, it sounds like Lou will be giving Marshall every opportunity to be the lefty in the pen. I know you don't want to where out a guy who you will need to bring in frequently to get out the lh batters, but if need be, he can go more than one inning as well if required.

[frostwyrm]

Murton's gotta go. It's not his fault but he'll be a lousy use of a roster spot if he stays.

[Sammy Sofa]

Looking at his stats, they dont look much different than Matt Murtons if he were to play full time.

 

Except he can play CF.

[Abe Frohman]

Reed Johnson likes to get hit by pitches almost as much as he likes to take a walk. HBP is getting on base, so I'm down with that.

[jersey cubs fan]

DeRosa and Cedeno can both play 2B and 3B. If someone goes down for an extended period, they can make the decision then.

 

Yes, the point is they can only cover 1 backup infield spot a day. Teams always try and cover the "what if two go down" scenario. DeRosa and Ramirez have had to leave multiple games. Theriot is not a legit everyday SS. I don't see anyway they go in with one backup infielder.

[SAMMYWHO]

If Marshall wins a spot in the pen it would be smart to leave him and Lieber in as long men. Then you'd have Wuertz, Marmol, Howry, Hart, and Wood closing. The open spot might be for Lahey? I'm not sure, anyone else know what they're going to do with him?

[UMFan83]

Hopefully Reed does better than the last two Cubs to wear number 13...

[Jon]

Hopefully Reed does better than the last two Cubs to wear number 13...

Don't forget Rey Ordonez and Jeff Fassero.

[ThePenguin11]

If Marshall wins a spot in the pen it would be smart to leave him and Lieber in as long men. Then you'd have Wuertz, Marmol, Howry, Hart, and Wood closing. The open spot might be for Lahey? I'm not sure, anyone else know what they're going to do with him?

 

Scott Eyre is still on this team, right?

 

(EDIT: I'm not saying he's any good, but right or wrong, as long as he's here he's going to have a spot in the bullpen.)

[Derwood]

If Marshall wins a spot in the pen it would be smart to leave him and Lieber in as long men. Then you'd have Wuertz, Marmol, Howry, Hart, and Wood closing. The open spot might be for Lahey? I'm not sure, anyone else know what they're going to do with him?

 

Scott Eyre is still on this team, right?

 

yes, but he has an ouchy elbow

[ThePenguin11]

If Marshall wins a spot in the pen it would be smart to leave him and Lieber in as long men. Then you'd have Wuertz, Marmol, Howry, Hart, and Wood closing. The open spot might be for Lahey? I'm not sure, anyone else know what they're going to do with him?

 

Scott Eyre is still on this team, right?

 

yes, but he has an ouchy elbow

 

Is he pondering retirement? That would be a blessing considering he's a loogy that sucks at getting leftys out.

[Elrhino]

It was my understanding from listening to Gary Hughes a few weeks ago on XM MLB's channel that Fukudome made it pretty clear to the Cubs organization that he didn't want to play centerfield. We are short on the infield. Maybe EPat showed the brass this spring that he could be mlb ready if needed for an extended call up, so they are more likely to take the risk of going short there. The Cubs gotta hope DeRosa stays healthy, because if he goes down the bench is going to have to be completely rehauled in mid season. Which is probably the reason the Cubs have been trying to get him into the supersub position and limit him as an every day starter.

 

Just from an offensive production standpoint, a Pie/Johnson platoon at that position is much better than just an every day Pie hitting righties and lefties, and at minimal cost.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Elrhino

[rawaction]

FWIW, the Cubs did go with 1 IF backup for a decent portion of 2007. For a while there, the bench was C (believe Blanco was hurt and Hill/Bowen was the backup), Ward, Murton, Pagan, and Fontenot as the lone backup IF.

[CubColtPacer]

Good move in signing Johnson. I hope that we don't trade Murton just for the hell of it. I actually like both Murton and Johnson on the bench.

 

I don't see how that is possible. The only way that happens is if they go with 1 backup middle infielder, and I don't see anyway they pull that off. ....

 

With the normal 5-man bench, if one is a catcher and you burn one on a 1B-man (Ward), that leaves you 3 guys to cover infield and outfield. Either it's one outfielder (Johnson covering all three spots, supplemented by Ward or Cedeno), and two infielders (Cedeno and Cintron). Or it's one infielder (Cedeno) and two outfielders (Murton and Johnson).

 

Personally I don't see why going with Cedeno only wouldn't be just fine.

 

When's the last time a team went into a season with 1 backup infielder? When's the last time the Cubs even considered it? It's not going to happen. Cedeno only is impossible because of the "what happens if 2 go down in the same game" question. You can always throw Ward into the OF if need be, or DeRosa, but there's nobody on that roster that can step in at 3rd, SS or 2B if needed.

 

The smart thing to do is not waste a roster spot on a 7th reliever.

 

The Cubs didn't start the season last year with only 1 backup infielder, but they did go with only 1 backup for over a month in May/early June last year, and then again in July for a few days, and then again in August for 10 days. Lou doesn't like it that much, but he's shown that he's willing to do it for quite a while. And it was really for the same situation last year. The Cubs wanted a platoon OF (Pagan) a 4th OF (Murton), Ward, and a backup catcher (Blanco/Hill) on the same roster. That only left 1 IF on the squad. Only injuries to Ward and Pagan made that not go on much longer than it did.

[jersey cubs fan]

That only left 1 IF on the squad. Only injuries to Ward and Pagan made that not go on much longer than it did.

 

No, that's not the only thing that let it not go on for long. They didn't like doing it.

[CubColtPacer]

Reed Johnson would be a waste of time.

 

I disagree completely.

 

Johnson's production against left-handers is much better than Pie's, which addresses a struggle the Cubs have had for years.

 

Pie's overall numbers also look better if it's not being brought way down by all those left-handers, which makes the Cubs less likely to replace him and gives him a better chance to get a fair shot.

I don't like the idea of a platoon partner for Pie. Letting him play only against LHers is not giving him a fair shot. The Cubs have to let him play. This is the same tired old story year after god forsaken year with the Cubs.

Wait . . . you mean RHers, right?? And since that's the majority of pitchers, I'd say that IS a fair shot for Pie. Rest him against LHers (that he's going to do poorly against anyway)and put him in positions that he may well excel in . . .

Yea I meant RHers. Thanks for the clarification. A platoon is not a good idea for the development of young player aside from it being a terrible waste of assets. How is Pie going to get better if he never (or rarely) faces LH pitching? They might as well trade him while his value is high b/c once he get the "platoon" label he will fetch pennies on the dollar.

 

There are several LH hitters who continually are in platoons.

 

Curtis Granderson got sat down by Detroit against about half the left-handers they faced last year.

Brad Hawpe was benched against over half of the left-handers Colorado faced.

 

There are many, many more with significant splits...productive players who get platooned.

 

Pie isn't likely to become a decent option against left-handed pitching. It's certainly possible, but he's very likely to become the latest left-hander in the major leagues who has a huge split difference. Give him half the bats against left-handers. If he suddenly becomes much better, give him more. He has a much better chance of succeeding in this league if he doesn't play against most of the left-handers, and he can still be a very productive player starting 135 games as Granderson and Hawpe do.

[GoCubsGo1679625768]

Arguably the best FA signing in MLB today. That is why Hendry is top 14 GM in the NL.

[CubColtPacer]

That only left 1 IF on the squad. Only injuries to Ward and Pagan made that not go on much longer than it did.

 

No, that's not the only thing that let it not go on for long. They didn't like doing it.

 

Agreed, they certainly didn't like it. But they didn't complain everyday about it like they did with the 11 pitcher thing.

 

The Cubs did it from the 5th of May until the 15th of May. On the 15th, they brought up an IF and sent down the 12th pitcher.

 

3 days later, they were already ready to bring the 12th pitcher back up, and they sent down the 2nd IF.

 

On June 3rd, they DL'd Ward and brought up Pie. So at that point they only had 1 backup for any of the 4 IF positions, and they had 3 backup OF's.

 

Floyd went on the bereavement list on the 8th, and they weren't going to replace him until Aramis got hurt on the 10th. That moved DeRosa to 3rd and Fontenot came up to play 2nd. So there was still only 1 backup IF.

 

When Ramirez came back on June 22nd, they had 2 backup IF's again and only 11 pitchers. Lou complained about it every single day until the All-Star Break and promised they would rectify it soon. One main reason that they kept the 2nd IF at this time was because Aramis was getting regular rest and was never sure to play the next day.

 

By July 20th, they had gone back to 1 IF again. They traded Izturis and Jake Fox was selected to replace him. So now they're down to 1 middle IF again. The only reason this didn't last long? Ward gets hurt later that day and goes on the D.L.

 

By the time Ward comes back, Pagan is on the D.L. Even with that, Cedeno only remained on the roster until Monroe is acquired, and then the Cubs went down to 1 backup IF again until rosters expanded.

 

The Cubs may not have liked it, but they were certainly willing to do it. They did it in May and June. When Ramirez was gimpy, they brought up the 2nd IF as insurance. When he was a little less gimpy in July, they traded Izturis and went back down to 1 where they likely would have stayed at a while if Ward doesn't immediately get hurt. By the time Ward comes back and makes the bench situation complicated again, Pagan is gone and allows the 2nd IF to stay, and even then they decided they'd have yet another platoon OF rather than the 2nd IF when they traded for Monroe.

 

Whenever push comes to shove, the Cubs have shown that they are willing to get rid of their 2nd IF before they're willing to give up any of their other parts. The biggest indication of that came on July 20th. They trade Izturis, and they had plenty of room to put another infielder on the roster. Instead, they put Jake Fox on the roster, which made their bench Ward/Fox/Pagan/Fontenot/Blanco. If the Cubs valued a limited player like Jake Fox's addition over a 2nd IF, how can it be said they were desperate to add one?

Edited March 25, 2008 by CubColtPacer

[CubinNY]

Reed Johnson would be a waste of time.

 

I disagree completely.

 

Johnson's production against left-handers is much better than Pie's, which addresses a struggle the Cubs have had for years.

 

Pie's overall numbers also look better if it's not being brought way down by all those left-handers, which makes the Cubs less likely to replace him and gives him a better chance to get a fair shot.

I don't like the idea of a platoon partner for Pie. Letting him play only against LHers is not giving him a fair shot. The Cubs have to let him play. This is the same tired old story year after god forsaken year with the Cubs.

Wait . . . you mean RHers, right?? And since that's the majority of pitchers, I'd say that IS a fair shot for Pie. Rest him against LHers (that he's going to do poorly against anyway)and put him in positions that he may well excel in . . .

Yea I meant RHers. Thanks for the clarification. A platoon is not a good idea for the development of young player aside from it being a terrible waste of assets. How is Pie going to get better if he never (or rarely) faces LH pitching? They might as well trade him while his value is high b/c once he get the "platoon" label he will fetch pennies on the dollar.

 

There are several LH hitters who continually are in platoons.

 

Curtis Granderson got sat down by Detroit against about half the left-handers they faced last year.

Brad Hawpe was benched against over half of the left-handers Colorado faced.

 

There are many, many more with significant splits...productive players who get platooned.

 

Pie isn't likely to become a decent option against left-handed pitching. It's certainly possible, but he's very likely to become the latest left-hander in the major leagues who has a huge split difference. Give him half the bats against left-handers. If he suddenly becomes much better, give him more. He has a much better chance of succeeding in this league if he doesn't play against most of the left-handers, and he can still be a very productive player starting 135 games as Granderson and Hawpe do.

And that's a bunch of bs.

 

It's a sample size issue that old-timey baseball minds can't get there brain around.

[CubColtPacer]

Reed Johnson would be a waste of time.

 

I disagree completely.

 

Johnson's production against left-handers is much better than Pie's, which addresses a struggle the Cubs have had for years.

 

Pie's overall numbers also look better if it's not being brought way down by all those left-handers, which makes the Cubs less likely to replace him and gives him a better chance to get a fair shot.

I don't like the idea of a platoon partner for Pie. Letting him play only against LHers is not giving him a fair shot. The Cubs have to let him play. This is the same tired old story year after god forsaken year with the Cubs.

Wait . . . you mean RHers, right?? And since that's the majority of pitchers, I'd say that IS a fair shot for Pie. Rest him against LHers (that he's going to do poorly against anyway)and put him in positions that he may well excel in . . .

Yea I meant RHers. Thanks for the clarification. A platoon is not a good idea for the development of young player aside from it being a terrible waste of assets. How is Pie going to get better if he never (or rarely) faces LH pitching? They might as well trade him while his value is high b/c once he get the "platoon" label he will fetch pennies on the dollar.

 

There are several LH hitters who continually are in platoons.

 

Curtis Granderson got sat down by Detroit against about half the left-handers they faced last year.

Brad Hawpe was benched against over half of the left-handers Colorado faced.

 

There are many, many more with significant splits...productive players who get platooned.

 

Pie isn't likely to become a decent option against left-handed pitching. It's certainly possible, but he's very likely to become the latest left-hander in the major leagues who has a huge split difference. Give him half the bats against left-handers. If he suddenly becomes much better, give him more. He has a much better chance of succeeding in this league if he doesn't play against most of the left-handers, and he can still be a very productive player starting 135 games as Granderson and Hawpe do.

And that's a bunch of bs.

 

It's a sample size issue that old-timey baseball minds can't get there brain around.

 

Huh? What's the sample size issue? I made a lot of statements in there. Which one was based on a bad sample size?

[TruffleShuffle]

And that's a bunch of bs.

 

It's a sample size issue that old-timey baseball minds can't get there brain around.

 

Huh? What's the sample size issue? I made a lot of statements in there. Which one was based on a bad sample size?

 

what's BS about it? some guys simply don't hit same-handed pitching as well as they hit opposite-handed pitching. see jock jones as a good example, and his sample size is huge.

[brinoch]

Pick the best hitters (and that includes Murton) and keep them for the team.

 

There's no reason that you can't go with 2 OFers and 1 IF on the bench to start the season. If there's a little injury to an IF and you're worried about them missing a few games but not going on the DL, send Hart or Murton down and bring up Fontenot or whoever. I think getting tied down into having so many IF and so many OF on the bench is silly (and I've long advocated using 6 bullpen spots and yo-yoing 2-3 pitchers between the Cubs and AAA).

 

Moreover, though he's not brilliant defensively or anything, it's not like Soriano can't or won't play 2B if it's needed. If, say, Ramirez and Theriot go down in a game, you move DeRosa to 3B, Cedeno to SS, Soriano to 2B and Murton to LF. Big whoop. Cedeno, Theriot and DeRosa are (in a pinch) interchangeable among 3B, SS, and 2B and Soriano is your emergency 2B. Sure, you won't want to do that everyday, but for part of one game? It's fine.

[TruffleShuffle]

Pick the best hitters (and that includes Murton) and keep them for the team.

 

There's no reason that you can't go with 2 OFers and 1 IF on the bench to start the season. If there's a little injury to IF and you're worried about them missing a few games but not going on the DL, send Hart or Murton down and bring up Fontenot or whoever. I think getting tied down into having so many IF and so many OF on the bench is silly (and I've long advocated using 6 bullpen spots and yo-yoing 2-3 pitchers between the Cubs and AAA).

 

Moreover, though he's not brilliant defensively or anything, it's not like Soriano can't or won't play 2B if it's needed. If, say, Ramirez and Theriot go down in a game, you move DeRosa to 3B, Cedeno to SS, Soriano to 2B and Murton to LF. Big whoop. Cedeno, Theriot and DeRosa are (in a pinch) interchangeable among 3B, SS, and 2B and Soriano is your emergency 2B. Sure, you won't want to do that everyday, but for part of one game? It's fine.

 

plus soriano is supposedly having leg issues, and fukudome had season-ended elbow surgery. murton is a very good insurance policy; there's no reason to give him away just because we have some outfield depth now.