Josh Johnson Trade Rumors: Who Leads Angels-Red Sox-Rangers Race for NL Ace?

When the Miami Marlins traded Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers on Monday, they made one thing clear. There is a "For Sale" sign outside Marlins Park, and there are some big names up for grabs.

One player who could follow Sanchez and Infante out the door is right-handed starter Josh Johnson, who is 6-7 with a 4.14 ERA this season. According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, he's one of many Marlins players who are drawing interest from other clubs.

This is not to say that Johnson is a lock to be traded, mind you. ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote a few days ago that he couldn't find a single team that actually believed the Marlins would trade Johnson.

Likewise, Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has it from a person familiar with the Marlins thinking that the club will hold on to Johnson because he's under contract through next season and because he's shown on occasion this season that he can still pitch with the best of 'em.

It's exactly because of those same two reasons that other clubs are so interested in Johnson. Who wouldn't want a quality pitcher with another year left on his contract, right?

Leading the charge are three teams, in no particular order: The Los Angeles Angels, the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers.

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reported the Angels' interest in Johnson via Twitter:

"

Josh Johnson w/ six SHO IP tonight (1 H, 0 BB, 9 K). And yes, #Angels pro-scouting director Hal Morris was there. #Marlins #TradeDeadline

— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 24, 2012"

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe did the same for the Red Sox:

"

Red Sox have scouted but are not close on a deal for struggling Marlins righty Josh Johnson

— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) July 23, 2012"

And Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News took care of the Rangers:

"

Miami's Josh Johnson through 4 tonight: No hits, 6 Ks vs. Atlanta. ... And, I'm told, Rangers have a scout at the game.

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 24, 2012"

What we have here are three American League contenders with entirely different reasons to trade for Johnson.

Here's a quick look at those reasons.

Why the Angels Need Josh Johnson

"Need" is actually too strong a word here. The Angels want Johnson more than they need him.

They don't need him because Johnson's profile is that of a No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher, and the Angels are pretty well covered there. Staff ace Jered Weaver is 12-1 with a 2.20 ERA, and he's looked very strong since returning from his stint on the disabled list with a bad back. C.J. Wilson has had his ups and downs recently, but he still has an ERA under 3.00.

The biggest wild card in the Angels' rotation is Dan Haren, who hasn't been himself all season. His struggles have been chalked up to a bad back, and the Angels finally decided to deal with that by putting Haren on the DL earlier in July.

He limited the Texas Rangers to two earned runs in six innings in his first start off the DL on Sunday. The Angels can thus allow themselves to hope where Haren is concerned.

The Weaver-Wilson-Haren trio is a formidable one if Haren is healthy, and a trio like that would very much come in handy in a short playoff series.

The Angels are only going to swing a deal for Johnson if they think they need him to make the postseason, which isn't out of the question given the weakness of the back end of their rotation. To boot, they also suddenly find themselves worrying about holding off the Oakland A's, who must not be underestimated.

Why the Red Sox Need Josh Johnson

Here, the word "need" is far more appropriate.

Starting pitching is without a doubt Boston's biggest weakness. Red Sox starters rank 27th in baseball with an ERA of 4.89, and supposed staff co-aces Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have struggled to get it done all season.

Lester in particular has been brutal lately. He's pitched fewer than five innings in each of his last three starts and he's seen his ERA balloon to 5.46 in the process. If he struggles again this weekend at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox are going to have to do something drastic with Lester.

If he were to be traded to the Red Sox, Johnson would basically become a top-of-the-rotation starter by default. Regardless of where they would slot him, the Red Sox would be trusting Johnson to give them quality innings, something that only Clay Buchholz is doing right now.

The dilemma the Red Sox are facing at the moment is whether it's even worth the trouble to buy at the trade deadline. Cody Ross' dramatic walk-off homer last week has been followed by a four-game losing streak in which the Red Sox have been bludgeoned to smithereens. They are now under .500, and they could wave a white flag at the deadline if they don't string some wins together in Texas and New York this week.

If the Red Sox are at .500 or better at the deadline, Johnson can help. If they're below .500 at the deadline, Johnson can't help. They'll be beyond saving.

Why the Rangers Need Josh Johnson

The Rangers' rotation has consisted of a lot of moving parts all season, which has been largely due to injuries.

The bad news kept coming in the last couple days. First, the Rangers had to scratch Roy Oswalt's start on Monday because of a back problem (shocker there). Then they found out that Colby Lewis won't be pitching again this season due to a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, according to the Associated Press.

The general consensus before all this was that the Rangers were bound to make a move for a starting pitcher sooner or later. Now, it's all but a given that the Rangers will make a move for a starting pitcher. It's something they must do.

It's been reported by Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com that the Rangers have scouted Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke, the top two pitchers on the trade block this season. What makes their interest in these pitchers, um, interesting is that they have the prospects to go get either one of them. Texas' farm system is one of the deepest in baseball.

What's intriguing about Johnson as far as the Rangers are concerned is that he can be just as good as Hamels and Greinke on a given day, and that the price for him should be lower even despite the extra year remaining on Johnson's contract.

If the Rangers want to boost their chances of winning the World Series, they're better off targeting Hamels or Greinke. If they want the best value, they should target Johnson.

So Who's the Favorite in This Race?

All we really know right now is that the Angels, Red Sox and Rangers are all interested enough in Johnson to be scouting him. You can rest assured that they're not the only teams eyeing Johnson, but let's go ahead and assume that the three of them are the front-runners to land him.

As for which of the three is the team to beat in the race within the race, I have to side with the Rangers.

The Angels obviously can't be counted out completely because of how weak the back end of their rotation is, but they have less incentive to deal for Johnson now after seeing Haren pitch well in his return to the rotation. If he stays healthy and effective, the Angels will have three very good starting pitchers. Plenty of other teams around the Junior Circuit will envy them.

As for the Red Sox, it shouldn't be taken for granted at this point that they're going to buy. They're only going to do that if they snap out of their four-game losing streak, and much will depend on how they fare in New York this weekend. A sweep will probably force them to sell. Merely losing two out of three could have the same effect.

The Rangers are the team to beat in the Johnson sweepstakes not because they've made it clear that he's their top target, but because it's plenty evident at this point that they have their hearts set on improving their team at the deadline any way they can. 

This was true even before they got bad news about Oswalt and Lewis. Before, their incentive to improve had everything to do with not just getting back to the World Series, but winning it.

Now, their incentive to improve has more to do with simply making sure they have what it takes to get to the World Series. Their starting rotation is without a doubt their biggest question mark, and it is imperative that they deal with it.

And make no mistake, if the Angels, Red Sox and Rangers get into a bidding war for Johnson, the Rangers have the assets to outbid either one of them.

They also have the obligation to do so, even if it means overpaying.

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