The Toronto Blue Jays added some depth at first base Friday, formally announcing the signing of Dan Johnson to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training. The left-handed hitting first baseman has MLB experience dating back to 2005, including a 2013 cameo with the Baltimore Orioles.
Johnson’s signature big league moment came on the final day of the 2011 season when he hit a two-strike, two-out, game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the Tampa Bay Rays to the playoffs.
Johnson, 34, spent most of the 2013 season with the New York Yankees’ triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre affiliate, hitting .253/.379/.447 with 26 doubles, 21 home runs and 93 walks. He figures to provide the Blue Jays with depth at triple-A Buffalo in 2014.
Johnson was the triple-A International League MVP in 2010, when he hit .303 and led the league with 31 home runs and a .430 OBP. He has placed in the IL’s top ten in home runs and walks four times each.
Johnson debuted for the Oakland Athletics in 2005 after being selected in the seventh round of the 2001 amateur draft. He hit 15 home runs as a rookie and walked nearly as often as he struck out. In parts of eight MLB seasons with the Athletics, Orioles, Rays and Chicago White Sox, Johnson has a career .236/.337/.411 batting line with 56 home runs.
