NL West News: Josh Johnson lands with the San Diego Padres

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For periods of time Josh Johnson has haunted the Colorado Rockies. He has been dominant against them, not to mention that he nearly stole the starting gig away from Ubaldo Jimenez at the 2010 All Star Game.

Now the Rockies face the prospect of seeing Johnson much more frequently, but not in the same context as before. Where he was once an ace who had his way with the Rockies, he will now be a guy on a one-year deal who is trying to rebound. On Tuesday Johnson inked a one-year, $8 million deal with the San Diego Padres. Jerry Crasnick reported the news for ESPN:

While Padres fans can take comfort in the fact that it is only a one-year contract, $8 million is a lot of cheddar for a guy coming off a 2-8 season in which he posted a 6.20 ERA. He also made only 16 starts, raising further red flags about his ability to stay healthy for a full season.

As for those career numbers against the Rockies, here they are: 45 innings pitcher in six starts, a 1.40 ERA, only seven earned runs, and 48 strikeouts against 13 walks. If win-loss records are your thing, he only went 2-1 in those starts, so I guess that’s something. As for me, my lasting memory of Johnson is him striking a bunch of guys out.

The reality is that the Rockies won’t be facing the same guy when they see Johnson as a member of the Padres in 2014. Hopefully their results against him reflect that fact.