Future Of Troy Johnston

[Austin Lodge]

Troy Johnston, am amazing player who's unfortunately being held back by our front office. Since JB is at 1st, and Trey Mancini could potentially play there too, what can Troy do? DH? RF? 

[Ely Sussman]

It's gotta be extremely frustrating for him to produce at an elite level yet still get overlooked. Last season, he focused on adding agility (which translated as a baserunner), so I figured that could help him in the corner OF spots as well and create another route to be called up, but the organization didn't give him any reps there to find out.

To force his way onto the roster early in the season, he'll need to decisively outplay Mancini this spring to propel himself ahead on the depth chart (and convince Mancini to opt out of his contract to sign elsewhere). Assuming that doesn't happen, Troy just needs to stay patient.

[One Regend]

It shouldn't be hard for Johnston to outpace Trey Mancini at this point in his career. Mancini is nothing more than a platoon player at best, and at worst, he's staring down the barrel of retirement.

What I don't understand is why the Marlins didn't find him any ABs at the major league level last year, on a team with an offense as horrid as theirs was. Good teams try to find ABs for guys with a good bat. The Marlins didn't even try.

Now he's on the outside looking in because of the Marlins and their stubbornness. I can list you at least 8 teams that would want him on their Opening Day starting lineup, and at least 8 others who would have him on their roster in a platoon/bench role. There's no excuse for the Marlins here. Give the guy some ABs!!

[Slacker Mills]

9 hours ago, One Regend said:

It shouldn't be hard for Johnston to outpace Trey Mancini at this point in his career. Mancini is nothing more than a platoon player at best, and at worst, he's staring down the barrel of retirement.

What I don't understand is why the Marlins didn't find him any ABs at the major league level last year, on a team with an offense as horrid as theirs was. Good teams try to find ABs for guys with a good bat. The Marlins didn't even try.

Now he's on the outside looking in because of the Marlins and their stubbornness. I can list you at least 8 teams that would want him on their Opening Day starting lineup, and at least 8 others who would have him on their roster in a platoon/bench role. There's no excuse for the Marlins here. Give the guy some ABs!!

I can list 30 teams who do not want Troy on their 40-man roster, let alone their starting lineup. Any one of those teams could have purchased him for pocket change during the Rule 5 Draft. I hope he makes it to The Show and proves everybody wrong.

[Slacker Mills]

2 hours ago, Slacker Mills said:

I can list 30 teams who do not want Troy on their 40-man roster, let alone their starting lineup. Any one of those teams could have purchased him for pocket change during the Rule 5 Draft. I hope he makes it to The Show and proves everybody wrong.

I misspoke. Rule 5 calls for selected players to be on the major league roster, not just the 40-man. Nonetheless every team passed on him.

[One Regend]

4 hours ago, Slacker Mills said:

I misspoke. Rule 5 calls for selected players to be on the major league roster, not just the 40-man. Nonetheless every team passed on him.

In essence, the Marlins should consider themselves fortunate that Troy is still with their organization after leaving him exposed. There were quite a number of teams that could have used his services (A's, Nationals, Royals, and Pirates just to name some), and he could have just as easily been gone.

[Ely Sussman]

5 hours ago, Slacker Mills said:

I misspoke. Rule 5 calls for selected players to be on the major league roster, not just the 40-man. Nonetheless every team passed on him.

I still insist that there are teams who will regret passing on him. Particularly for teams without a good incumbent 1B who don't have the urgency to contend for a World Series title in 2024, he was worth taking the flier on. While it's an unsexy profile, if he proves to be viable as a merely okay platoon bat, all of the years of club control you get would make it an extremely efficient investment. Outstanding makeup too, for what it's worth.

[Chad Turner]

He had 12 errors last year.  For comparison, Bell had 4.  Factor in that he will be 27 midseason and you have a replacement level AAAA player.  I doubt his base stealing will translate to the majors.  But I like him and think he could be the next Cooper/Aguilar/Bour type that we keep fielding.  As Marlins fans, we have half the MLB type prospects these other teams have.  So we are comparing him to scrubs, which makes him look better.  

[Ely Sussman]

2 hours ago, Chad Turner said:

He had 12 errors last year.  For comparison, Bell had 4.  Factor in that he will be 27 midseason and you have a replacement level AAAA player.  I doubt his base stealing will translate to the majors.  But I like him and think he could be the next Cooper/Aguilar/Bour type that we keep fielding.  As Marlins fans, we have half the MLB type prospects these other teams have.  So we are comparing him to scrubs, which makes him look better.  

Yeah, that's fair. Troy has struggled at 1B defensively even beyond the errors. It is still a relatively new position (began playing there in 2021), so there is a shred of hope that he makes progress this season thanks to simply building up reps. Easier to justify having him in the big leagues if he's adding any value with the glove.

[One Regend]

I will admit that defensively, he does have some issues. If you're not a good fielder, but you have a good bat, good teams will try to find a way to get your bat in the lineup. The Marlins haven't even tried.