Ace Josh Johnson Shut Down for the Season by Florida Marlins

The Florida Marlins started the season with two potential aces on their pitching staff—Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson.

Unfortunately, they will end the season with no aces on their roster.

The Marlins shut down Nolasco in August with a knee injury, and now they have shut down their No. 1 starter in Johnson with a back injury.

According to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post, via Twitter, the Marlins have ended Johnson’s season prematurely because of a lingering back injury.

Johnson was scratched from his start last Friday, and his goal was to pitch on Wednesday, but he couldn’t throw a bullpen session over the weekend, and any hopes of him returning this season went down the tubes.

Johnson finishes the season with an 11-6 record, a 2.30 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and 9.1 K’s/9 in 183.1 IP. His 2.30 ERA currently leads the National League.

This is really disappointing for Johnson, as I think this injury puts him out of the Cy Young Award race. I thought he would finish second in the voting at the beginning of the season to Roy Halladay, and Johnson certainly lived up to expectations.

From his May 2nd start to his July 27th start, Johnson was the best pitcher in baseball in my opinion. He was 8-2 over those 16 starts and had a ridiculous 1.31 ERA. If the Marlins offense gave him any support during those starts, he could have been 16-0 during that stretch.

Johnson should make a full recovery by the start of next season and should once again be a Cy Young favorite.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg