Josh Johnson shut down for the season

Josh Johnson was supposed to pitch an inning for the Lake Elsinore Storm last week as part of his rehab assignment.  The Padres signed him to an $8M deal in 2014 when he re-injured his elbow in Spring Training and elected to go under the knife for his second TJ surgery. He missed all of the season.

This year A.J. Preller signed him again for $1M hoping that he'd find a spot in the rotation.  JJ's recovery has been painfully slow however.  He's had to deal with setback after setback and he's just experienced another.  After 4 pitches in Lake Elsinore Johnson was removed with elbow discomfort.  He had an MRI on Sunday and plans to see his surgeon again this week.

The Padres have announced that they'll shut him down for the rest of the season.

Padres' Josh Johnson shut down for rest of season | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

"He’s a little frustrated, but he’s a positive guy," Uhlman said. "He clearly wants to pitch and hopefully can come back from this and recover and continue his career. He’s one of the hardest workers we’ve had on this club in terms of a guy trying to come back. If there is anybody who can do this and come back from it, Josh would be the guy."

I feel terrible for Johnson, by all accounts he's been an integral part of the clubhouse and he's worked really hard to get himself into position to pitch again.  It must be unbelievably frustrating.  His story reminds me of Mark Prior's struggles with the Pads.  Maybe next year.