Toronto Blue Jays shut down Josh Johnson for rest of season

Just a few years ago, Josh Johnson was among the young, elite starting pitchers in the game.

In 2010, in 28 starts for the Miami (then Florida) Marlins, Johnson posted a stellar 2.30 ERA alongside an equally impressive 1.11 WHIP, all of this at just 26 years of age.

So needless to say, when the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Johsnon along with Jose Reyes, they figured they secured themselves a top of the rotation starter.

Had they only been able to see the future.

Coupled with poor performances and injury issues, Johnson has been nothing short of awful in his debut season with Toronto. Posting a 6.20 ERA through 16 starts, the Blue Jays have decided to shut down Johnson for the remainder of the season, citing injury concerns.

"Blue Jays right-hander Josh Johnson is officially done for the season due to a strained right forearm.The news hardly comes as a surprise, considering Johnson hasn’t pitched since Aug. 6, but after a visit with renowned surgeon James Andrews, it was determined that Johnson should not throw for at least a couple of weeks.Dr. Andrews confirmed the original diagnosis and ruled out surgery, which is welcome news for Johnson, but it doesn’t change the fact that he won’t pitch again for the Blue Jays this year.“We expected a lot, he expected a lot — it just didn’t happen,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Johnson’s disappointing season. “He had the best spring of our staff; he looked better than most guys we faced on other teams. Who knows [why it didn’t work]? Nobody knows.”"

Up for a $14 million qualifying offer at season end, Johnson may have thrown his last pitch for the Blue Jays.