KJ’s hitting, but faces plenty of competition for bench job

“That (competing for a job) makes it a little more complicated,” Johnson said of spring training, which couldn’t be the same just-get-your-work-in ritual it was for him in the past, when he was on major league contracts and assured of a spot. “I’ve never once had a spring where it was like that, where it was like, got to get some hits, got to get going.

“It’s different, but it’s the reality.”

Johnson, a former lineup regular at second baseman and left field, added experience at the infield corners and right field in recent years, versatility that’s required for Braves bench players this year.

After a sluggish start he stepped it up in the past week, not a moment too soon. He had six hits, four walks and two strikeouts in his past 16 plate appearances before Wednesday, including a pair of doubles and a home run, raising his spring average to .250 (8-for-32) with a .368 on-base percentage and .469 slugging percentage in 12 games.

Assuming right fielder Nick Markakis is ready by opening day and Eric Young Jr. hangs on to win the center-field job, it would leave two spots for backup outfielders and five primary candidates: Johnson, corner outfielder/first baseman Joey Terdoslavich, Zoilo Almonte (who hasn’t impressed this spring but is out of minor league options), Eury Perez and Todd Cunningham.

Of that group, Perez and Cunningham are the only ones who can play center, and the Braves want to have a backup for Young (regular center fielder Melvin Upton is recovering from a foot injury and not expected back before May).

Left fielder Jonny Gomes will likely play against all left-handers and some right-handers, so one of the bench spots could go to a left-handed batter who would play plenty in left field. Johnson probably has a defensive edge over Terdoslavich, but the latter is on the 40-man roster and was hitting .278 with a team-high seven extra-base hits in 36 at-bats before Wednesday.

As for Johnson’s recent uptick, he credited work with first-year Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, whose principles – stay up the middle of the field, make contact, shorten your swing with two strikes – have helped the veteran get his swing back where he wanted it to be.

“I feel better,” Johnson said. “It’s spring training. I’ve gone both ways before – I’ve gone out and hit .400 for the first two weeks and not really had a clue how you’re doing it, but you’re getting hits. So there’s that. But Seitz has been really good for me. It’s been a lot of work to get back feeling good…. The approach, that’s been really good for me.”

Asked if it was a matter of teaching an old dog new tricks, Johnson smiled. “No, it’s more like tricks you knew and forget,” he said. “You’ve just go to get back on it.”

A year ago, Johnson was at spring training with the Yankees, on a $3 million contract. He hit .219 with a .304 on-base percentage and six homers in 227 plate appearances for the Yankees before they traded him to the Red Sox on July 31 for Stephen Drew and $500,000.

Two months later, the Sox traded Johnson to the Orioles in a four-player deal, after he hit .160 in just 25 plate appearances for Boston. He finished the season with seven homers and nine-year career lows in average (.215), OBP (.296), slugging percentage (.362), RBIs (27), walks (29) and plate appearances (297).

It was a rough year bouncing between positions and from team to team, and it came after Johnson had consecutive 16-homer, 50-plus RBIs seasons with Toronto in 2012 and Tampa Bay in 2013. He hit .235 with a .715 OPS in 407 plate appearances for the Rays and started 96 games at four positions or designated hitter, including 50 starts in left.