Steve Johnson picked by Giants - Was it a mistake not to protect him?

[mweb]

Yes it was a mistake, he should have been protected over others imo.

[LookinUp]

There are two ways to look at this, as I see it.

First way - we don't think he's very good so we didn't protect him. If this is the case, then I don't mind losing a guy who the O's brass doesn't think is very good.

Second way - we exposed him to rule V as the best way to protect him. He'd have been about the 37th guy on our 40-man roster. Add a relief pitcher, Bedard, 1b and 3b and he'd likely have been made available by waivers. If so, he could have been claimed and not kept on the major league roster by another team. In other words, he'd have definitely been gone. At least this way there's a way to get him back if he doesn't stick in the majors for an entire season.

[lint06]

There are two ways to look at this, as I see it.

First way - we don't think he's very good so we didn't protect him. If this is the case, then I don't mind losing a guy who the O's brass doesn't think is very good.

Second way - we exposed him to rule V as the best way to protect him. He'd have been about the 37th guy on our 40-man roster. Add a relief pitcher, Bedard, 1b and 3b and he'd likely have been made available by waivers. If so, he could have been claimed and not kept on the major league roster by another team. In other words, he'd have definitely been gone. At least this way there's a way to get him back if he doesn't stick in the majors for an entire season.

Oh, that's very clever. I hadn't thought of that.

[sector7g]

I wish we had protected him. And I can see a possibilty of him sticking out the year on the Giants roster. It's not that hard to pitch in relief in that weak hitting division.

[Tony-OH]

I don’t understand why people have to bash his dad. Hey, did you play 12 years of pro ball with parts of 5 seasons in the big leagues? Did you lead a team in wins in the bigs? Stop the bashing. Let’s face it, dad might not have been Nolan Ryan, but he did more than you guys did. Maybe with less physical talent than you had. That’s not easy to do. Steve seams to be the same type of guy with more talent. Also, seams to have his head on straight. Why can’t you just say “Good Luck”? You can project all you want. Steve and his dad have done more than all you guys. But, you want to keep tearing them down.

Sounds like you are CLOSE to the situation. Seriously, I don't think anyone is bashing Steve and I've certainly never said anything bad about his Dad. I gave my opinion on the situation and stand by it. If Steve Johnson outperforms what most "experts" believes he capable of, well good for him. I certainly won't root against him whether he's a Giant or Oriole.

[Tony-OH]

Just asking. Johnson's flyball tendencies are something that's been discussed as a negative. Did you know that Koji Uehara had a 0.55 GO/AO ratio last year. Did you know that George Sherrill had a career 0.64 GO/AO ratio. In general, it might not be good to be a flyball pitcher but I don't think it automatically means a guy can't pitch in the majors and be effective, especially in the bullpen.

There's a big difference in minor league GO/AO and major league. I bet 95% of the time or more pitchers GB rate go down when they reach the majors. Sure, flyball pitchers can have success in the major leagues, but guys who are already extreme flyball pitchers in AA have to be questioned when it comes to future success at higher levels. Could he be the exception to the rule? Possibly.

[mikezpen]

I wish we could have at least included him in a trade package.

[scOtt]

If Steve Johnson wasn't related to Dave Johnson, no one would really know who he is or really care he was gone.

I liked the idea of Steve in the org, I am a sucker for the whole "legacy" thing, but at the end of the day I don't think that there was any real need to protect him. I don't think he will stick on anyone's roster this year.

If nothing else he will get a taste of the bigs, come back to us and won't be any worse for the wear.

I posted about this on Roch's blog...

I saw a few comments today fearing that Johnson miight be stunted if he's exposed to ML hitters and all. I see just the opposite. If he hadn't been selected, then no way he comes to Orioles ML camp. Two examples, Wieters and Matusz this past ST camp, they both came away from camp very impressed. Saying how much they learned talking to real ML players, or just watching how they go about their business.

If Johnson can make it out of camp onto the ML roster in SF, all the better. He'll be watching and learning from the best. Plus all the "Bull Durham" stuff... Never carry your own luggage, stay in the best hotels, all the women have long legs and brains.

Bottom line, he'll learn far more than it will hurt his confidence. If he makes the ML roster, he WILL NOT pitch much, and certainly not any one run games in the eighth. He will be protected at all times. All this is why his Dad is happy, because his son is going to get the ML Experience.

And still, in all likelihood, he will be back in Bowie soon enough. Book it.

[scOtt]

I wish we could have at least included him in a trade package.

Unless the trade was before 40-man rosters were set, Johnson would have been worthless in a trade. He would have been selected off their roster and he would absolutely be gone from the Orioles organization. At least this way he's most likely to be back.

[scOtt]

I guess AM is a friggin genius! What a plan.

I'm not saying someone else should have been left off the 40-man, just that there are upsides to this situation too.

One of the downsides of this not mentioned yet.... this burns an option for him.

[weams]

The third pick in the rule five draft was a valuable commodity. In order to keep the ability to pick , it required us to chance losing Radhames Liz and Steve Johnson (assuming that all the current members of the 39 man roster are people that AM values and has plans for).

Tatum was available to us only if we placed him on the 40 man roster. We obviously wanted another major league ready catcher in our system. Waters is left handed with major league experience. Sarfate and Bass have pitched in the major leagues with moments of effectiveness. It is absolutely debatable who were the correct 39 men we should have kept on our 39 man roster.

Evidently in the negotiations to get us a years worth of a major league top of the rotation starter, in order to keep David Hernandez, Mr. MacPhail needed to use that valuable item to finish the deal.

It may well have been a case of Millwood at 12 million or Millwood at 9 with that thing of value included.

Think of it as Ray and Johnson for a year of Millwood at 9 million. When we trade Millwood, does anyone think that we may well get something as valuable back as Steve Johnson . Not to mention, we may have the option of getting Steve Johnson back as well. Is anyone ok with all this?

[mark_beckens]

I'll vote. When he stays with the Giants for the year and becomes something of a ML player. The loss only matters if they keep him and he becomes a good ML pitcher.

[scOtt]

I'll vote. When he stays with the Giants for the year and becomes something of a ML player. The loss only matters if they keep him and he becomes a good ML pitcher.

The odds are so far against Johnson sticking with SF all year, even if he does I'd say it was a good risk for AM to take. I'd be happy for Steve, and disappointed we lost him, but I wouldn't say we made a mistake.

Along the lines of I still consider the Albert Belle contract to be a decent one for us*. Albert was always healthy prior and a DANGEROUS hitter. It was just a perfect storm of bad luck for us.

*A good contract except that owners shouldn't be meddling in team affairs and forcing the GM to sign someone just because of some childish pissing contest with King George.

[Frobby]

I'm obviously pretty surprised that Johnson was taken since he's normlaly not the kind of guy who gets taken in a Rule 5 draft. Either way though, I have hard time believing the Giants will keep him on the roster all year so I would expect him to be back at sometime.

The funny thing is I was just talking with a scout about Johnson two nights ago and we both agreed he would not be taken. What the hell do we know apparently?

I will however stick to my guns and be shocked again if he makes the team and stays all year. If he does, good for him.

I'll be a little surprised if Johnson isn't back with us at the end of spring training.

[taygre]

By CLOSE, I don’t know what you mean. I live in Baltimore and have followed his career since HS. He’s a Baltimore guy. He’s one of us and I want to see him, Erbe and Spoone do well. His dad seems like a nice guy. I don’t agree with him all the time. But, I like that he calls it the way he sees it. No Orioles bias. Just because I disagree doesn’t mean I need to say he’s terrible or doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I will assume he knows more about baseball then all of us here on this site. You can agree or not agree. Either way, no need to bash the guy. He's one of us as well.