PHILADELPHIA – The Braves traded away five members of their 25-man roster in a one-week span, yet Chris Johnson wasn’t one of them.
The third baseman they’ve tried to trade since last fall remained a Brave as of Thursday night, the team still unable to find a team willing to trade for him and take on a suitable amount of the salary he’s owed over the final two-plus seasons of a three-year, $23.5 million contract extension.
“Yeah, it’s awkward,” said Johnson, who said more than once in recent weeks that he hoped the Braves would be able to trade him before Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline. “When you’re somewhere where people say publicly they’re trying to move you, and tell you they’re trying to move you, it’s difficult. But I’m just going to try to keep working, do better.”
Johnson was in the lineup Thursday for the first time in five days, getting his 19th start of the season at third base. Even though the Braves traded Juan Uribe a week ago, Johnson hadn't made a start at third base in the previous five games. Adonis Garcia made four consecutive starts at third base, and Daniel Castro started Wednesday's game at third base.
Johnson was batting just .233 (31-for-133) with one homer, nine RBIs and a .270 OBP in 51 games before Thursday, including 3-for-22 with no walks and nine strikeouts since the All-Star break. He’s been used primarily against left-handers before the Uribe trade, and still had a .321 average (18-for-56) against lefties.
“It’s one of those points where I haven’t done anything, you know?” Johnson said of not drawing trade interest. “Unproductive. I don’t play too much, and make too much money, I guess.”
