The Miami Marlins are doing the opposite of trying to sell Josh Johnson. To ask for an organization’s top prospects in return for a guy who’s been battling health issues is one thing, but he hasn’t been the World Series champion pitcher we still try to envision him as.
The asking price for Johnson is high, unreasonable and irrational for most every team in the majors.
According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Marlins are asking for players comparable to Jurickson Profar and Travis d’Arnau to get the trade talks going.
Josh Johnson is not worth the Texas Rangers‘ and Toronto Blue Jays‘ major league ready, No. 1 prospects—plain and simple.
Unless the Marlins are willing to lower the price on JJ, there’s no way any team is going to bite. The Rangers and Angels have reportedly backed out from trade talks involving Johnson because they feel the price tag is too high. But if the price comes down, Texas is willing to talk.
Another issue is Johnson’s home and away split. He is definitely a better pitcher in Miami (5-4, 3.35 ERA) as opposed to his awful numbers on the road (1-3, 5.48 ERA).
Is Josh Johnson a sub-par pitcher? No. But he is not as high-priced as the Marlins organization is trying to sell him as. His 2012 numbers aren’t as attractive as his 2009-10 numbers, when he was a combined 26-11.
Since then, he’s 9-8 and has struggled with injuries.
Will JJ go at this year’s trade deadline? Possibly. According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the Marlins want more for Johnson than the Los Angeles Angels gave up for Zack Greinke.
If that isn’t an indication of what the Marlins are trying to do, I don’t know what is.
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