Johnson (elbow) was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

It's a testament to Johnson's stuff that the Orioles not only traded for him at the deadline in the three-team trade that sent Trey Mancini to Houston and Jose Siri to Tampa Bay while knowing he needed Tommy John surgery, but they will protect him from the Rule 5 draft while he recovers despite the fact he has never pitched above High-A. Given the timing of the surgery and Johnson's lack upper-level work, it will be a small margin of error for him to make it as a big-league starter, but he could be a devastating reliever if his stuff returns to pre-injury form.

Johnson, who is about to undergo Tommy John surgery, was traded from the Rays to the Orioles on Monday as part of a three-team trade that sent Jose Siri to Tampa Bay and Trey Mancini to Houston, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Johnson was a very promising pitching prospect prior to suffering a torn UCL. He has premium stuff and logged a 3.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 27 innings at High-A this year. Given that he turns 24 in September and might not return to action until the 2024 season, it's possible the Orioles could convert him to a reliever in the coming years to fast-track him to the majors.

High-A Bowling Green placed Johnson on the 7-day injured list Wednesday with right forearm inflammation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

EDGE Analysis

The Rays will send Johnson in for further imaging to determine the extent of the forearm injury, but initial X-rays apparently revealed no structural damage to his pitching arm. The 23-year-old has made seven starts for Bowling Green this season, logging a 3.00 ERA while striking out 41 over 27 innings.

Johnson was added to the Rays' 60-man player pool Thursday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Johnson is a very intriguing pitching prospect, as he is very new to pitching but has already displayed mid-rotation upside. He displays four useable pitches and two or three of them could become plus offerings. As a converted position player, there may be even more untapped potential with Johnson in the coming years.