DJ Johnson’s long, improbable road to the majors — eight seasons in the minors across five organizations, a career-threatening shoulder injury and various independent league stints — culminated with the right-hander finally making his debut with Colorado on Sept. 9, 2018.
Johnson then made the opening day roster in 2019, but was up-and-down from Triple-A Albuquerque all summer. So when the offseason rolled around and the 30-year-old had serious interest from Nippon Professional Baseball clubs in Japan for the third consecutive fall, he knew the timing was right.
“My agent and I sat down and looked at my age, the way my career was going, how much time I would have to be in the major leagues to get what I’d be making over here,” Johnson said from Hiroshima.