I certainly don't have any compelling news or anything here. But this morning, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that Arizona second baseman Kelly Johnson cleared waivers.
And frankly, I think that's odd. We're talking about a second baseman that's on pace to put up a roughly 5-win season, and nobody would even put in a claim on this guy?
He's making $2.35M this year! Even with a raise through arbitration, he'd almost seem to be a lock to be a bargain in 2011 given his strong track record outside of 2009. It's not like this is some weird, unpredicted breakout; Johnson put up respective WAR marks of 3.4 and 2.5 in 2007 and 2008, and he's done little this season to make one think that his true talent level is anywhere near how he played in 2009.
I'm sure that the Diamondbacks would expect some talent in return for Johnson, which makes perfect sense given how good he's been and how little he's been paid. But why wouldn't somebody want to claim this guy? I mean, Cody Ross gets claimed but Kelly Johnson doesn't?
Unless I'm missing something here, which I suppose could be a possibility, I really don't understand how Kelly Johnson cleared waivers.