Six years later, Kelly Johnson back in Braves uniform
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The smells are the same for Kelly Johnson. So too are much of the coaches and clubhouse staff when he looks around the Braves' spring training complex.
"Not much has changed," he said, looking around.
This was the first professional locker room that Johnson was ever in when the then-18-year-old was taken with the 38th overall pick in the 2000 draft. He would spend his first 10 seasons in professional baseball with Atlanta.
Now, six years removed from playing in a Braves uniform he's gone on a journey that saw him play for the Diamondbacks before suiting up for all five American League East teams in a four-year span -- making him the only player in history to do so -- Johnson is back with the organization.
It's a return he equates to coming home after graduating high school and returning to those old haunts.
"So I'm that guy still going to the same party?" the 33-year-old said, smiling.
But what is so very different is the Braves' roster, which doesn't include anyone that Johnson played alongside during his four seasons in Atlanta, and Johnson himself.
He's in camp on a minor league deal, fighting to make the team based on the versatility he can bring to a team that is expected to use platoons at second base and left field if not more positions.
One of the Baby Braves in 2005, Johnson spent the bulk of his first go-around with the franchise at second base -- originally a left fielder, he switched after missing '06 recovering from Tommy John surgery -- but over the last two seasons has added third base, first base and a return to the outfield to his repertoire.
"However this develops, I see him (getting) a spot, and the good thing about Kelly, he plays a couple positions," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.
In discussing Johnson, Gonzalez's affection for him is clear. The manager was the Braves' third-base coach when Johnson was a 23-year-old rookie.
"You followed his career, not only because we're baseball fans, but (he's a) great kid," Gonzalez said. "We saw him grow up in our organization and have a great career."
But further complicating matters is that Johnson also plays at spots where the Braves have organizational depth.
At second base they already had backup Phil Gosselin, then brought in second baseman Alberto Callaspo on a one-year, $3 million deal. That position got deeper by acquiring Jace Peterson in the Justin Upton deal and there's talk that Eric Young Jr. -- also on a minor league deal -- could see time there, which may change now that Melvin Upton Jr. could miss the first month of the season.
In left field, the Braves have Young as an option, they signed veteran Jonny Gomes at $4 million for one season, acquired Zoilo Almonte and Eury Perez and already have prospect Todd Cunningham. Then there's Dian Toscano, the 25-year-old Cuban who Atlanta inked to a four-year, $6 million deal in January.
Johnson could spell the other position-playing Johnson, Chris, at times at third, but Callaspo and Peterson also have experience at that spot.
Still, the left-hander, who the last three seasons has hit .225/.306/.390 with 192 RBI and 145 extra-base hits, believes he can find enough chances at the plate to make his case.
"There's an opportunity there to get some at-bats and be a guy that can fill in and that's what I'm excited about and that's why I'm here," Johnson said.
He's gotten off to a slow start through the first two games, going 0 for 5 with a strikeout, including 0 for 3 Thursday against the Tigers, in which he started at third base. Wednesday vs. the Mets, Johnson took over for Freddie Freeman at first.
Ultimately, Johnson had similar offers from teams that saw him at this stage of his career as being a utility piece off the bench. But a return to Atlanta was what he had been waiting for.
A free agent after each of the last four seasons, Johnson, who lives in metro Atlanta, had wondered whether the Braves would be up for a reunion.
"You're always like 'Well, if I get the call, what would that look like?'" he said.
It came last month and he and Gonzalez discussed his role. The manager heard a player that wanted to be part of what the Braves were building and for Johnson, being back in those old surroundings and giving him a career that would come full-circle was a perfect fit.
"The Atlanta connection and everything else, the familiarity, was too much to ignore it," he said. "It was the right time."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney
