The Chris Johnson Extension

It's time to write about the baby elephant that has been hiding in the corner of the Braves' extension room. 
We have been distracted by the albatrosses that were the Dan Uggla and B.J. Upton contracts.  Then we were euphoric over the slew of excellent extensions the Braves agreed to with our various young superstars:  Jason Heyward (2/$13m), Julio Teheran (6/$32.4m), Craig Kimbrel (4/$41m), Andrelton Simmons (7/$58m), and Freddie Freeman (8/$135m).  I love every one of these deals.  I wish Heyward's was longer and Freeman's was shorter.  Looking at Teheran's deal, I want to do a million backflips.  I think it is one of the ten best contracts in all of baseball.

But then that leads me back to a terrible extension.  The Braves decided to extend Chris Johnson for three more years after this season at a total cost of $23.5 million.  There is also an option year included, but let's be realistic - there is a greater chance that I will be a relief pitcher for the Braves in 2018 than the Braves will be picking up that option. Maybe you are thinking that the terms of the deal look reasonable and not too expensive given the economics of baseball.  Maybe you think Chris Johnson is a good player deserving of an extension and a starting role at third base.  You are wrong.  I believe that Chris Johnson is a role player, deserving of a spot on a major league roster but not of starting at third base on a team with thoughts of winning a division title.  Would I love to add Chris Johnson to the terrible Atlanta bench, replacing Doumit/Pena/Schafer/etc as a late pinch hitting option? Yes, but that is strictly because those options are so bad.  So so bad.

Chris Johnson currently owns a triple slash of .276/.297/.386.  He is a terrible defender.  He has Francoeur-level patience at the plate.  He has limited power.  I actually do not want to waste anymore time discussing the merits of Chris Johnson the player because he is essentially a "replacement player."  [Note: Baseball Prospectus actually has Johnson projected as a 0.0 WARP player, i.e. actually a replacement player.]  I want to talk about the process.  When he signed his extension, Chris Johnson was a 29-year-old player coming off an obvious career year, hitting .255 with one home run and four RBIs in 26 games in 2014, and with two full seasons left until he was able to reach free agency.  The free agency part is the key.  The Braves tied their hands needlessly.  Chris Johnson was under team control for two more years.  He is not the type of talent that is allowed to be a malcontent if he is not extended, but there weren't even rumors of this type of problem.  It looks like the Braves simply were flush with cash and spent in on everything they could.
Chris Johnson is the player for whom the arbitration process was designed.  He is a borderline player and should be evaluated at the end of every season. If the season ended today, the Braves would non-tender Chris Johnson.  I wish the Braves had a simple solution like with Tommy La Stella/Dan Uggla.  Unfortunately as much as I would like that solution to be internal (Phil Gosselin), I think Gosselin outproducing Johnson is not realistic.  I'd love to experiment with Evan Gattis or Freddie Freeman at third, but those would be desperation experiments.  In 2015 and beyond, I think Jose Peraza is a realistic solution even if it is not a perfect fit. [UPDATE: I forgot about Kyle Kubitza who is currently bashing everything in Mississippi.  He is also a legitimate potential option and could quite possibly provide equal production to Chris Johnson right now.]

Instead of discussing upgrades such as Chase Headley or Martin Prado or chasing Adrian Beltre, the Braves are stuck with Chris Johnson and are locked in for three more years (or more accurately have committed $23.5 million dollars to his bank account).  It was a terrible process, and I am disappointed in the Braves for making such a terrible move.  I hope Chris Johnson proves me wrong and that two years from now I write a mea culpa, but I won't hold my breathe.