Cardinals Promote 1B Dan Johnson from Memphis; Option Lyons & Hatley
The St. Louis Cardinals announced prior to tonight's series finale in Chicago that they have purchased first baseman Dan Johnson from Memphis (AAA) and optioned left-handed pitcher Tyler Lyons (the 26th man for yesterday's double-header) and right-handed pitcher Marcus Hatley to the triple-A club.
Johnson, a veteran of nine seasons in the majors - all in the American League, signed with the Cardinals as a minor league free-agent in early May and was batting .265 (.354 on-base pct.) with 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 61 games for the Memphis club. He was batting .362 (21-for-58) with the runners in scoring position for the Redbirds.
The left-handed hitting first-baseman owns a career .236 batting mark with 57 HR's and 201 RBI in 431 games in the majors with stops in Oakland (2005-08), Tampa Bay (2008, 2010-11), Chicago White Sox (2012), Baltimore (2013) and Toronto (2014).
Johnson, 35, has enjoyed eight minor league seasons with 20 or more homers, including 2010 when he hit a career-high 30 round-trippers for the Durham Bulls (AAA).
The 6-2, 210-pound Johnson, who was drafted by Oakland in the 7th round in 2001 out of the University of Nebraska, hit 15 home runs for the Athletics in 2005 and 18 in 2007.
Johnson has been assigned uniform no. 30.