Tampa Bay Rays to sign Kelly Johnson

The Tampa Bay Rays will sign second baseman Kelly Johnson to a one-year contract, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

#Rays agree with free-agent 2B Kelly Johnson on one-year contract, sources tell me and @jonmorosi.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 28, 2013

Johnson spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Arizona Diamondbacks in August of 2011 in exchange for slugging second baseman Aaron Hill.

In two seasons with Toronto, Johnson hit .233/.323/.375. Last year he hit .225/.313/.365 with 19 doubles, two triples and 16 home runs over 507 at-bats.

Johnson broke into the majors as a member of the Atlanta Braves. He manned left field in his rookie season, but he then moved to second where he’s since spent a majority of his time.

Last season the Rays had several players, including Ben Zobrist, Ryan Roberts, Sean Rodriguez, Evan Johnson and Reid Brignac, cover second base. The addition of Johnson should allow Zobrist to man the outfield on a more regular basis.