In the big winter trade that delivered Justin Upton from the desert, Chris Johnson came along as the asterisk stuck to Upton’s sock.
He was, as they say in more humid climes like New Orleans, the lagniappe, the little something extra, the 13th donut when you paid for a dozen.
“Yeah, the throw-in guy. You know, just take him,” smiled Johnson.
“I’m really aware how good Justin Upton is. I don’t think anybody really enjoys being called a throw-in, but it was a trade (the Arizona Diamondbacks) wanted to make to upgrade the left side of the infield. Hopefully, they got what they wanted.”
Martin Prado, the all-purpose and uber-popular Brave traded to Arizona to primarily play third base, had a .217 April. His was the clumsiest, most inaccurate kind of first impression.
Meanwhile, Johnson, 28, playing at third and first base, was in the midst of the best month of his three-plus-year career. Having been traded twice in six months — in July from Houston to Arizona for a pair of minor leaguers, then in January as the “throw-in” — he hit .369 in April. Good enough to lead the National League in batting for a brief instant.
In a self-correcting universe Johnson’s average has been trending downward in May. Platooning with a likewise good-hitting Juan Francisco at third, he is not expected to be the next great star of the baseball firmament. Yet, Johnson has piqued some well-placed expectation.
“Is he a .400 hitter? I don’t know if anyone can be other than (Miguel) Cabrera. A .300 hitter? I think he could do that. Certainly a .280 hitter who can do some damage,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.
With the glove, Johnson will spark no comparisons to Brooks Robinson, but his defense has been adequate. So long as he remembers to do no harm, a basic tenet of any doctor or infielder, Johnson, “Mr. Throw-In,” can make himself pretty valuable to the Braves.
“That’s one of the things people always talk about: ‘Well, his defense is not really that great.’ It’s something I had to focus in on,” Johnson said.
“When I was coming up, I focused on hitting a lot — hitting, hitting, hitting. Everyone always talks about hitting. To be an everyday player and to play in the big leagues, you got to play defense somewhere. It’s something I’ve tried to work on and I think I’m getting a little bit better.”
Being an everyday player is very high on Johnson’s to-do list. The hot start has been a fun chapter, but one that he regards as only the foreword to a career still in the rough draft stage. He has found first place to his liking; this winning thing is addictive, especially when you come up as an Astro. And the Braves certainly have shown a willingness to play him — Johnson held down first while Freddie Freeman’s oblique healed. That he hopes to parlay into a gradual makeover, becoming one of those guys whose name is practically tattooed onto a lineup card.
Ambitions run high in this one.
“All you ask for is an opportunity and I’ll try to make the most of it when I get it,” Johnson sad. “That’s my goal every single night when I walk in here see my name in the lineup — that’s my opportunity to go out and show them I’m supposed to be here and help try to win the game. If you do something to help try to win a game that night you have a better chance to be in there the next day.”
String enough of those performances together, one pearl at a time, and eventually there comes the day when they begin calling Justin Upton the “throw-in” to the Chris Johnson trade, right?
“I doubt that,” Johnson laughed. “Hopefully, it’s closer to us both coming over here and doing the best we can to make (the trade) a little lopsided.”
