According to Marc Topkin (Tampa Bay Times) the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to sign Dan Johnson to a minor league deal.
#Rays have Dan Johnson – yes, that Dan Johnson – in minor league camp, as a knuckleball pitcher
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 5, 2016
In a surprising move by the Rays, Johnson will sign not as a first baseman, but as a right-handed knuckleballer. The recently hired minor league pitching coordinator, former knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, is already working with Eddie Gamboa ― another knuckleballer in Rays camp ― and is expected to work with Johnson as well.
Johnson spoke about signing, saying,
This is something I really wanted to try out. It’s not the first time I’ve tried this out, but this is the first time I feel like I can take it seriously.
Dan Johnson, on signing with #Rays as a knuckleball pitcher: “This is something I really wanted to try out.” pic.twitter.com/y7NlOWfXsm
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 5, 2016
Suffice it to say, if Johnson were to return to the big leagues as a knuckleballer, it would be an incredibly unusual twist in his career.
Johnson was an intermittent fixture for Tampa Bay during parts of the 2008, 2010 and 2011 seasons, famously hitting a ninth-inning homer in the infamous Game 162 that propelled the team to the playoffs ― one of the two biggest homers* in franchise history. Aptly named the Great Pumpkin for his red hair and propensity to come up big toward the end of the season, Johnson spent the 2015 campaign playing first in the Cardinals and Reds organizations. He also appeared briefly in the Majors with the Cardinals.
*He hit his other dramatic homer in a key September 2008 game off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Noteworthiness
Dan Johnson had a penchant for the dramatic in his time with Tampa Bay. Here are his three biggest homers:
2008 vs. the Red Sox
[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K4AbvObbbM”]
2010 vs. the Red Sox
[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI6XrYgCQZc”]
2011 vs. the Yankees
[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL4kOF3oylI”]