It doesn’t appear Johnson will have a Rockies future

TEMPE, Ariz. — With his four gold gloves and his World Series ring, Charles Johnson has the kind of resume that draws attention. The only time he’s at the forefront with the Colorado Rockies these days, though, is when the subject of a trade comes up.

Johnson is a 33-year-old catcher on a team full of 25-year-olds. He’s a guy with a $9 million contract on a team full of players who don’t make one-third that much. He is, to put it simply, a player who doesn’t fit in with the Rockies, who have jettisoned nearly every experienced player on the roster as part of their massive youth movement.

“For now, I’m here,” Johnson said. “I don’t know that I’ll be here for long. But you do what you do to get ready for the season and you leave it up to them.”

In a spring training game against the Angels on Saturday, he made a rare start, going 0 for 2 with a walk and allowing one wild pitch to get past him in five innings behind the plate. Not that it matters much to the Rockies. At this point, they’re not much interested in what he can do. Instead, they’re extending him a courtesy, giving him a chance to showcase himself for other teams that might be interested.

Long known as one of the best defensive catchers in the game, Johnson was a key part of Florida’s championship team in 1997. He set a major league record with 172 straight games without an error. But when the Marlins started their post-championship fire sale, Johnson eventually became part of it.

What ensued was a four-year odyssey with four teams — Los Angeles, Baltimore, the White Sox and Florida again — until he wound up with the Rockies, where he was a full-time starter in 2003 and 2004.

Most of 2004, that is.

At the end of last season, with Johnson still fielding well but hitting only around .230, the Rockies decided their future at catcher was with 25-year-old rookie J.D. Closser. They notified Johnson and he got all of 15 at-bats in September.

“They told me exactly what they were going to do,” Johnson said. “They were going with a youth movement. I knew that. There have been no surprises to this point.”

Actually, the main surprise is that Johnson is still with the team.

Colorado came close to trading him in the off-season, but deals with the Pirates and Devil Rays fell through, in large part because of a clause in his contract that called for him to be paid an extra $1 million if he was traded.

Johnson still has some limited no-trade language in his deal. The Rockies insist they’re still interested in trading him.

“It’s too early in camp to get anything done, but in the meantime, he’s preparing himself to play,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “Charles is a great individual. We haven’t had one ounce of problems with him. He’s going to contribute, whether it’s for us or someone else.”

And so, for Johnson, spring training meanders on. He keeps working out, getting his occasional at-bats, trying to help the young guys, but knowing he almost certainly won’t be around to see them do much this season.

“Charlie’s a professional,” Closser said. “He’s not going out there and just shutting it down. He’s helping everyone, going out there, getting his work in, and that’s the way it is.”

Johnson’s preference, he said, would be to go to a team that might get him back to the World Series. Mostly, though, he’s just looking for a team that wants him — a place where he can play.

“It would be nice to have both — a good team and a place where you can play,” he said. “But mostly, I just want to play. We all want to play.”