Minor League Transactions: Johnson, Mastny, Botts

Tom Mastny and Jason Botts were among the former major leaguers to sign deals with big league clubs from June 8th-14th. Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details: Ben Johnson, one of the players the Padres sent the Mets for Heath Bell, has signed a deal with the Tigers. The outfielder, who has a .230/.313/.414 line in parts of three major league seasons, had been playing in the Golden League. Scott Patterson, who played briefly with the Yankees and Padres in 2008, signed with the Mariners after posting an 18K/3BB ratio in the Atlantic League. The Marlins turned to Tom Mastny in their search for relievers, signing the former Indian out of the Atlantic League. Mastny, 29, posted a 6.13 ERA in 94 innings with Cleveland from 2006-08. The Royals released Jason Taylor four years after drafting him in the second round and signing him to a $763K deal. The Nationals signed Jason Botts out of the Atlantic League. Botts, who has a minor league OPS of .875, spent parts of...