Boston Red Sox finally move on from Brian Johnson

After years of making him untouchable in trades, the Boston Red Sox have moved on from Brian Johnson.

For years, Brian Johnson was considered to be one of the Boston Red Sox top pitching prospects, a player whose name would inevitably be brought up at the trade deadline. Yet, despite those constant rumors and speculation, Johnson remained in the organization.

On Monday, Johnson’s time with the organization finally came to an end. He was placed on waivers, allowing another team a 48 hour window where he can be claimed.

After toiling in the minors for what seemed like forever, Johnson was finally given a real chance at the major league level in 2018. He performed relatively well, posting a 4.17 ERA and a 1.430 WHiP over his 38 appearances, including 13 starts. Johnson struck out 87 batters with 39 walks in his 99.1 innings, but was able to limit hard contact as he proved to be an effective option.

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That was not the case in 2019. He battled elbow issues for most of the year, which may have played a part in his struggles on the season. In his 40.1 innings between the bullpen and the rotation, he posted a 6.02 ERA and a 1.884 WHiP, striking out 31 batters while issuing 23 walks.

Johnson is never going to be a big strikeout pitcher. His fastball averages below 90 MPH, and is not a strikeout pitch. His slider has generated a decent amount of swings and misses, with a 12.85% whiff rate in 2019, but is the exception in his arsenal. Instead, Johnson needs to rely upon decent command, and an ability to generate soft fly balls.

The latter was still the case in 2019. Even in a year where the ball flew out of everywhere, Johnson allowed a home run on just 8.1% of his fly balls. His biggest issue was his lack of command, manifested in his career worst 11.9% walk rate.

He may not be anything more than a back of the rotation arm, but a pitcher that can keep the ball in the yard is still valuable. Johnson, in the right situation, could be a useful piece on a major league staff, but he was not going to get that chance with the Boston Red Sox.

If healthy, it would not be a surprise if Brian Johnson emerged as a viable piece of a pitching staff. It is just a matter of having a chance.