OF prospect Johnson among six Tribe NRIs

Former Nats Minor League Player of the Year was acquired in Gomes deal

January 11th, 2019

The Indians will be getting their first look at newly-acquired outfield prospect Daniel Johnson this spring.
Johnson, who is ranked No. 12 among Indians prospects by MLB Pipeline, is one of six non-roster Spring Training invitees that Cleveland announced Friday morning.
The 23-year-old was acquired from the Nationals on Nov. 30 as part of the trade, and he has received his first Major League camp invitation in his fourth season as a professional. Johnson spent the majority of the 2018 season with Double-A Harrisburg, but was limited to 89 regular-season games due to a broken right hamate bone. In that time, he posted a slash line of .267/.321/.410 with 19 doubles, seven triples, six homers, 31 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.
In addition to his speed and raw power, Johnson can play all three outfield spots. He was a fifth-round selection in the 2016 Draft out of New Mexico State. In '17, he was named Washington's Minor League Player of the Year.
Another outfield prospect who will be joining Johnson in Goodyear, Ariz. is Mike Papi. The 26-year-old appeared in 65 games in right, six games at first and one game in left for Triple-A Columbus last season. He recorded an on-base percentage of .373, hitting .247 with seven homers, 26 RBIs with the Clippers, and he had an .820 OPS against right-handed pitching.

The rest of the non-roster invitees announced on Friday were catcher Li-Jen Chu, left-hander Rob Kaminsky, righty Henry Martinez and infielder Mark Mathias.
Chu, 24, batted a combined .272 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in 99 total games for Class A Lynchburg, Double-A Akron and Columbus last year, while Mathias, 24, appeared in 117 games and finished fourth in the Eastern League with 59 walks.
Kaminsky, 24, is coming off an Arizona Fall League All-Star selection after logging a 1.64 ERA in 10 appearances with Glendale, and Martinez, 24, led all Indians Minor League pitchers in saves, combining for 15 in his stops Lynchburg, Akron and Columbus in 2018.