“I love being on second base and getting those guys to look at me,” Johnson said. The rule changes promise to make players like Johnson attract more attention than ever. It’s always been true of ballplayers with speed: long before you try to steal a base, you can steal attention. “Just cause havoc, you know?”Ī threat to run on the bases can be more distracting than ever now that pitchers are allowed to step off just twice in a plate appearance (and would risk being charged with a balk if they step off a third time without recording an out). “My word to Kap and all these guys coming into spring training was I’m just gonna be a menace out there,” Johnson said.
#WILL BRYCE JOHNSON PLAY UPGRADE#
Whether it’s a huge pinch running spot or a defensive upgrade behind closer Camilo Doval, Johnson has the look of a difference-maker. He’d provide the only true defensive center field alternative to Mike Yastrzemski, who has struggled this spring (1 for 21) and will need to be protected against left-handed pitching.Īnd there isn’t another player in camp who has the tools that Johnson can offer to manager Gabe Kapler off the bench. There’s every reason to believe that Johnson is warranted on the Giants roster now. Whenever Johnson does make it back to the big leagues - and it shouldn’t be hard to create 40-man vacancies with Luke Jackson, Thomas Szapucki and Luis Gonzalez expected to be placed on the 60-day IL - Johnson will have a fresh complement of minor-league options to go up and down as roster needs warrant. They were disappointed to learn that the Giants already snuck him through in November and are under no obligation to carry him to start the season. A number of opposing scouts who have watched Johnson this spring - and who were eager to put a buy rating on him - assumed he might be out of options and perhaps available on the waiver wire.
The Giants were fortunate that Johnson didn’t get claimed at the time. They needed Johnson’s 40-man spot to protect younger players like Marco Luciano and Luis Matos from the Rule 5 draft. The 27-year-old was 2 for 18 in 11 games and played a fair amount of late-inning defense before the team outrighted him off the roster at the conclusion of the season. The Giants’ outfield defense was brutal last season but Johnson didn’t make his major-league debut until August.
And the River Cats’ Twitter feed was awash all last summer with videos of his great grabs in center field. He stole 30 out of 34 for Sacramento in 2021. But after losing the 2020 minor league season to the pandemic, Johnson returned with more polish on the basepaths. He didn’t always turn his speed into an asset in 2019 when he stole 26 bases and was caught 15 times while splitting the season between Single-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond. Ever since then, he has made a gradual sprint, as oxymoronic as the term might seem, through the Giants system. It’s creating a lane for Johnson, a sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft who didn’t hit a homer in 322 plate appearances as a junior at Sam Houston State. Slater is expected to need a little more time but could be back in the latter half of the month. Haniger could return as soon as April 6, which is the final game of the season-opening road trip to play the Yankees and White Sox. Both outfielders are expected to begin on the 10-day injured list. “All I did was hit a ball in the air.”Ī couple of spots on the Giants roster are unexpectedly up in the air now that Mitch Haniger has missed time with a Grade 1 oblique strain and Austin Slater is sidelined by elbow inflammation followed by a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
He’d driven in Johnson after the 27-year-old switch hitter had reached on a bunt single, stolen second, stolen third and shaken a metric ton of infield dirt out of his undershirt.īryce Johnson sigue 🔥. Michael Conforto had to laugh a week ago when he hit a sacrifice fly and descended to a dugout of congratulatory high-fives and fist bumps. He’s driven in eight runs while scoring 10 - usually with a minimum contribution from teammates. Johnson, who also contributed an RBI double on Wednesday, is hitting. Colorado outfield prospect Zac Veen has stolen eight of nine. Johnson leads all major-league players in stolen bases during the exhibition season, and it’s not an especially close race. After pilfering another Wednesday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium against the Texas Rangers, Johnson has attempted to steal 12 bases this spring. Johnson has been so daring a thief during the Cactus League season, the Maricopa County sheriff’s department might have to assemble a task force. That’s because Johnson’s focus is always on the next base. “Which is funny, because people ask me about it all the time. “The bases really haven’t affected me,” Johnson said.
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