Erik Craig Johnson (born December 30, 1989) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Johnson played college baseball at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and was drafted in the 2nd round by the

during the 2011 MLB Draft. He started his career with the Rookie-Level

Great Falls Voyagers The Great Falls Voyagers are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Great Falls, Montana, and play their home games at Cente ...

in 2011. He only pitched in two games and two innings during the 2011 season. In 2012, Johnson started the season with Single–A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte, and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. ...

but was later promoted to High–A

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

. Johnson finished the 2012 season with a combined record of 6–5 during 17 starts, innings, 2.53 ERA, 82 hits, 29 walks and 87 strikeouts. At the start of the 2013 season, Johnson was ranked the White Sox #3 prospect. He started the season at Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

. After going 8–2 in 14 starts, innings, 2.23 ERA, 57 hits, 21 walks and 74 strikeouts, he was promoted to Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. Johnson made his MLB debut with the White Sox on September 4, 2013. He made 5 starts during his rookie campaign, recording a 3.25 ERA with 17 strikeouts across innings pitched. Johnson spent the majority of 2014 in Charlotte, but made 5 more starts for the White Sox, struggling to a 6.46 ERA with 18 strikeouts across innings. Johnson spent the 2015 campaign largely in Charlotte, compiling an 11–8 record and 2.37 ERA with 136 strikeouts across innings. In 6 starts for Chicago, he posted a 3–1 record and 3.34 ERA with 30 strikeouts. Johnson made only two starts for the White Sox to begin the 2016 season, and struggled to a 6.94 ERA with 11 strikeouts in innings of work.

San Diego Padres

On June 4, 2016, Johnson and

Fernando Tatís Jr. Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Jr. (; born January 2, 1999), nicknamed "El Niño" and "Bebo", is a Dominican professional baseball right fielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB player Fernand ...

were traded to the

in exchange for James Shields. After the trade, he was demoted to Triple–A but was called up to pitch in the Padres rotation a week later. Through his first four starts with the Padres, Johnson was 0–4 with an ERA of 9.15 while allowing more than four runs in each start. He was placed on the disabled list on July 1. On October 11, it was announced that Johnson would miss the entire 2017 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

. On December 16, Johnson signed a new minor league contract with the Padres. Johnson missed the entire 2017 season as a result of the procedure. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017. On March 6, 2018, Johnson re–signed with San Diego on a minor league contract. He split the year between the Double–A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

and Triple–A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

, making 26 combined appearances and accumulating a 3.98 ERA with 45 strikeouts across innings pitched. Johnson elected free agency following the season on November 2.

References

External links

California Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Erik 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Mountain View, California Baseball players from Santa Clara County, California Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago White Sox players San Diego Padres players California Golden Bears baseball players Great Falls Voyagers players Kannapolis Intimidators players Winston-Salem Dash players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players San Antonio Missions players El Paso Chihuahuas players