The Cleveland Baseball Club informed the outfielder the he will not make the Opening Day roster.
The chances of Daniel Johnson making the Opening Day roster were always slim to none and slim is no longer an option. Johnson was informed by the Cleveland Baseball Club that he has not made the team and will be sent to the alternate training site and possibly the minors for the time being.
There are a few reasons why Daniel Johnson did not get his shot. First off it is an already crowded outfield with the likes of Eddie Rosario and Josh Naylor in the corners. Center field features Oscar Mercado and the Amed Rosario experiment. That is before considering Jordan Luplow will be a platoon bat and the. team still has to figure out what they’re doing with Bradley Zimmer and Harold Ramirez. There are simply too many major league level guys that the team has to figure out what they are doing with before even considering Johnson.
The key takeaway is that the team wants Daniel Johnson to play all three outfield positions. Johnson has 234 appearances in right field, 222 in center, and 97 in left in all levels of his career. In the minors those numbers are 198, 148, and 44 respectively. It seems that Cleveland not only wants him to have more familiarity with all there positions, but be proficient in them. There is an obvious imbalance between the three spots experience wise and leveling that off a bit would be preferable.
At the end of the day the chances of Daniel Johnson making the Opening Day roster was never all that likely. If the team did not sign Eddie Rosario and acquire Josh Naylor last season perhaps there is an opening, but until there is clear path Daniel Johnson will have to wait and that is not a bad thing. Johnson is still only 25-years old and a little more development could be best for the Cleveland prospect. There will come a time for Johnson to make an impact for the Cleveland Baseball Club, but that will be in the future. When exactly that future is will be the question.
