Jason Johnson signs with the Yanks

by Adam J. Morris on Jan 6, 2009 7:41 PM CST

Former Oriole starter Jason Johnson has been signed to a minor league deal by the New York Yankees.

This is largely of note to Rangers fans just because he's one of those pitchers, like Sidney Ponson and Pedro Astacio, who isn't really good, and yet has long been discussed as a potential Ranger.

I tend to suspect that, like Ponson and Astacio, he'll eventually make his way here on a minor league deal.

Although he's 35 -- older than I expected -- which means that time is running out.

Anyway, he walks a lot of guys, doesn't strike out many, and gets ground balls, so I could see him as the next Jamey Wright in Texas...some random vet who creates inexplicable excitement and ends up taking up space in the bullpen for a few months.

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On a related note

From Robothal:

Under terms of his settlement with the Orioles, right-hander Sidney Ponson will receive nearly all of the approximately $10 million he was owed after the team cut him for off-field transgressions in 2005, according to major-league sources.

The Orioles will pay the majority of that amount, sources say, and the rest will come from luxury-tax dollars collected by Major League Baseball.

How did the Orioles manage to escape paying the entire sum? Because MLB, upon reaching a new collective-bargaining agreement with the players’ union in Oct. 2006, used luxury-tax proceeds to settle virtually all of its outstanding grievances.

The Ponson grievance was still pending at that time. The Orioles, as part of his settlement, simply asked MLB for the same benefit that was available to other clubs.

While it appears the Orioles got off somewhat easily, none of the clubs that had grievances pending in ’06 paid a single dollar. All of the settlement money came from the central MLB source.

Baseball Time in Arlington

by Joey Matschulat on Jan 6, 2009 7:49 PM CST reply actions