Red Sox place Brian Johnson on outright waivers

With just over a week to go before next week's deadline to tender contracts to players, the Red Sox Monday placed left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson on outright waivers, according to The Athletic.

The move comes at a time when the Red Sox are trying to reduce payroll, with an eye toward getting under the first competitive balance tax (CBT) threshold of $208 million, though it should be noted that the money saved should Johnson be claimed will be minimal. Johnson made just $575,000 in 2019 -- a notch above the minimum salary in the major leagues.

Johnson can be

claimed by any team over the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, he would be assigned to the minor leagues and be removed from the 40-man roster.

Johnson is not yet eligible for salary arbitration and the Sox could have signed him to a very modest raise for 2020, keeping well below the $1 million mark. The fact they have placed him on outright waivers suggests they don't see him as part of their plans for 2020, or need an available 40-man roster spot -- or both.

In 2019, Johnson missed time early in the season with an elbow injury and returned to appear in 21 games -- seven of which were starts -- for a 6.02 ERA. That was by far his worst season among the four he had spent in the big leagues and a big comedown from 2018 when he was 4-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 38 games, with 13 of those in spot starts.

Johnson was a first-round pick in 2012 out of the University of Florida. He turns 29 in less than two weeks.

The move comes at a time when the Red Sox are on the lookout for additional starting pitching, with the expected loss of Rick Porcello to free agency and the potential of dealing off one of their high-salaried veteran starters as a means to reduce payroll.