Yankees Sign Kelly Johnson

Over the past several years, I (and others) have made the argument that it is very tough for the Yankees to find a capable bench bat because of the durability of their regulars.  Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez hardly ever took days off, and when Mark Teixiera joined the fray, it added another durable player to the infield mix.   Why would any utility player with legitimate talent want to sign with a team that would offer them very little playing time?   In 2010, Ramiro Pena spent the entire season with the Yankees and ended up with only 167 plate appearances over 80 games. He was pretty much nothing more than a pinch-runner who would come in for late-game defense during blowouts.

Fast forward to 2014, and this is no longer an issue.  Teixiera and Jeter are bouncing back from injuries.  Nobody knows where Cano will be playing in 2014, and third base is a giant black hole looking for someone to fill it.   Suddenly, utility players probably look at the Yankees as an opportunity to get significant playing time, rather than a way to collect a paycheck.   

This is where Kelly Johnson comes into play.  Johnson is a perfect fit for the Yankees - a left-handed batter who can cover second, third, and left field while providing a little pop in the lineup whenever he does play.   As a replacement for Robinson Cano, he would not be ideal - as a player who can get 350 at-bats playing different positions, it could just work out fine.    

There are a few wrinkles to work out - ideally, you would see Johnson as someone who can spell Soriano vs. tough right-handed pitching.   However, like Soriano, Johnson has never played right field.  Both may be learning it on the fly in spring training.  On top of that, his career at third base spans 16 games - all of which occurred in 2013.

But the Yankees likely didn't make this signing looking for a defensive wizard at those positions..   They signed him because he doesn't kill the offense whenever he does play.     In eight seasons in the big leagues, he has hit double-digit home runs six times.    He also has shown the ability to steal a few bases here and there.

Johnson strikes out a ton, but also is good at drawing walks.  His career walk rate of 10.5% is higher than the MLB average during his time in the game (8.4%). He also hits a lot of fly balls, which is a nice thing when you play half of your games in a home run paradise for left-handed bats.

In the end, this is a very solid signing for the Yankees - the under-the-radar type of signing that we could look back on as a key to their 2014 success.   Of course, this all changes if he is forced to play second base in the absence of Cano.