Johnson will be remembered as an on-base machine thanks to a keen eye at the plate that helped him produce a .268/.399/.441 career batting line. His 15.7% walk rate is the 29th-highest mark of any player in baseball history with at least 3,000 plate appearances.

He appeared in 832 Major League games between the Yankees, Expos/Nationals, Marlins and Orioles. His production was limited by a host of injuries, most notably a broken femur and a torn tendon sheath in his wrist. The former third-round pick earned just over $29MM over parts of 10 Major League seasons, according to Baseball Reference.

Here are the latest items from around the AL East…

• The Yankees have "nothing alive" with the Nationals in regards to a deal for Michael Morse, reports Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog (Twitter link).  New York was one of several teams interested in Morse, who has been on the trade block since the Nats re-signed Adam LaRoche.
• In an interview on WEEI radio's Hot Stove Show (partial transcription from WEEI.com's Kirk Minihane), Red Sox GM Ben Cherington said that there is no news about the team and Mike Napoli.  The Sox are continuing to talk with Napoli while also exploring other options at first base.
• Speaking of those first base options, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that the Red Sox "have explored" signing Casey Kotchman and Nick Johnson and also checked in with the Mariners about a trade for Justin Smoak.
• The Orioles are looking for pitching depth as they head into Spring Training, executive VP Dan Duquette tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  Though the O's haven't made any major transactions this winter, Duquette believes his team has improved itself, though he did vaguely mention a few deals that didn't happen.  "We looked around the industry for that middle-of-the-order bat," Duquette said. "There was one free agent that was a significant player. There have been some other players available in a trade that I'm not sure they were better than what we had, and the cost of the acquisition has been a little pricey for us."

• Nick Johnson told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the success of his 2012 season will come down to health. The Orioles signed Johnson to a minor league contract, but the first baseman didn't draw much interest this offseason. "There weren't a lot of teams giving me an opportunity," he said. 
• Andy Pettitte visited Yankees camp and told reporters, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, that he doesn't plan on making a comeback. Pettitte said he's "loving life" away from the ballpark and enjoying time with his family.
• Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports asked Joey Votto about his interest in playing for the Blue Jays and didn't sense much enthusiasm from the Etobicoke, Ontario native (Twitter link). Votto, who is under contract with the Reds through 2013, recently said he prefers to keep contract talks private.

Johnson last played in the Major Leagues with the 2010 Yankees, and though he has had trouble staying on the field, he owns a .401 career on-base percentage. A wrist injury limited Johnson to 24 MLB games in 2010 and he spent the 2011 season in the Indians' minor league system. Johnson posted a .201/.326/.328 line in 225 plate appearances in the upper minors last year.

• The Orioles are working toward a minor league deal with first baseman/DH Nick Johnson, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Johnson last played in the Major Leagues with the 2010 Yankees, and though he has had trouble staying on the field, he owns a .401 career on-base percentage.
• The Korean Baseball Organization suspended Kim Seong-min, the 17-year-old pitcher who signed with the Orioles earlier this offseason, for signing with Baltimore before graduating from high school, Yonhap News reports. Kim is no longer eligible to play or coach in South Korea. 
• Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun isn't convinced that having Manny Ramirez around in the second half of the season would make the Orioles much better. However, it seems that executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette would like to see the slugger get another chance, according to Connolly.
• The Orioles also agreed to sign catcher Dane Sardinha to a minor league deal.

• Slugger Nick Johnson was in the Indians' clubhouse before tonight's game against the Twins, but skipper Manny Acta says that it doesn't mean that we'll see the veteran promoted to the majors, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  Instead, the first baseman will be promoted from Double-A Akron to Triple-A Columbus.
• Because of their signing of Victor Martinez, the Tigers were without a first round pick tonight.  Six months later, Tigers VP David Chadd has no regrets, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.  The club wound up surrendering the No. 19 overall pick to the Red Sox, who used the pick to take UConn pitcher Matt Barnes.
• Athletics third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff was shocked to learn of his demotion to Triple-A tonight, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.  

• Catching prospect Devin Mesoraco, the Reds' first-round pick in the 2007 draft, is impressing the club during Spring Training with both his bat and his defense, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
• The Reds didn't make major offseason acquisitions and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that it was the right way for GM Walt Jocketty to approach the offseason.
• Here are a few details on Nick Johnson's minor league contract from MLB.com's Jordan Bastian and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  According to Hoynes, Johnson can opt out of his contract and become a free agent if he's not on the Indians' Major League roster by July 1.  Cleveland's $2.75MM team option on Johnson for 2012 will cease to be if Johnson isn't called up to the majors some point this season, tweets Bastian.  Of course, if Johnson isn't playing well enough to even earn a call-up, Cleveland wouldn't have been likely to pick up that option for next year anyway.
• Right-hander Jason Davis, who pitched for the Indians from 2002-07, is on a tryout with the Tribe's minor league camp, reports Paul Hoynes (Twitter link).  Davis, who last pitched in the majors with Pittsburgh in 2008, has a 4.82 ERA in 144 Major League games, 56 of them starts.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post

Rex Gary, Johnson's agent, recently explained to MLBTR that his client is "heading in the right direction" after being limited to 24 games last year due to a wrist injury. Though Johnson probably won't be ready for the beginning of the season and can't swing a bat all-out at this point, he should be ready soon after the season starts.

Johnson, 32, has a .401 on-base percentage over the course of a nine-year career that's seen him hit the disabled list nine times. If Johnson can recover from the wrist operation that sidelined him for most of the 2010 campaign, the Indians will have added a cheap on-base specialist to contribute at first base and DH when Matt LaPorta and Travis Hafner are rested.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement on Twitter.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Gary told MLBTR Johnson has been working out at Athletes' Performance Institute since October and clubs are monitoring his progress closely.  The first baseman/DH is not expected to be ready for the start of the season and is not able to swing a bat at full bore currently.  Still, Gary expects Johnson to be ready "early in the season."  The agent added that Johnson will need some time in the minors, as he hasn't played in a game since May 7th of last year.

Johnson, 32, has a .401 career on-base percentage in nine seasons for the Yankees, Expos, Nationals, and Marlins.  He's battled injuries throughout his career, but should still be an asset when he's able to play.

• Fielder is looking for at least eight years and $200MM or so when he hits free agency after the season, according to Heyman. Not surprisingly, the Brewers don't like the idea of committing that much to their first baseman.
• The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago
• The Rays, who are moving toward a deal with Johnny Damon, have also considered Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyan and Nick Johnson.
• The Yankees hope to hear from Andy Pettitte soon, but the lefty is still mulling retirement.
• The Giants appear to be nearing a one-year deal with Andres Torres. As our Arb Tracker shows, Torres filed at $2.6MM and the Giants countered with $1.8MM.
• Heyman says there's "scuttlebutt" that the Rangers could look to lock Josh Hamilton up on a multiyear deal. 
• Heyman talked to executives about Joey Votto's new deal and arrived at the conclusion I reached after talking to insiders earlier in the week: the Reds didn't appear to gain much from their deal with the reigning NL MVP.
• Heyman points out that Jose Bautista's representatives will have to convince arbitrators to overlook the string of pedestrian seasons that led up to Bautista's mammoth 2010 campaign. For more on Bautista's case, click here.

2:32pm: This morning, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle posted the latest on the Athletics' search for a designated hitter:

• Vladimir Guerrero is now open to a one-year deal with any AL West team.  The Mariners are probably not a match given the Jack Cust signing, and the Angels probably aren't planning a reunion, so this news really only affects the Athletics.  Meanwhile, the Rangers still consider Vlad their best DH option and are optimistic about a deal according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
• The A's still have Hideki Matsui atop their list, though he's drawn interest from the Orioles and possibly Rangers.
• Nick Johnson, said to be fully recovered from wrist surgery, is also in the mix for Oakland. 

• Oakland increased its offer to Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma, but the two sides were still unable to agree on a deal. Iwakuma was looking for around $12MM per season, and the A's were unwilling to spend more than $36MM, including the posting fee. The A's will have interest in Iwakuma again next offseason, when he is a free agent and doesn't require a posting fee.  However, relations may be strained after Iwakuma's agent Don Nomura told the AP the A's "never showed any respect" toward his client.
• The A's may take the $19.1MM posting fee that will be returned and focus on other areas, including Hideki Matsui. Oakland GM Billy Beane met with Matui's agent, Arn Tellem, Monday at the Winter Meetings. According to Slusser, Matsui has "strong interest" in playing for the A's. Derrek Lee and Nick Johnson are potential alternatives.
• According to this tweet from Slusser, if the A's look to add a veteran starter, it may be a familiar face, coming in the form of Justin Duchscherer.

• There are indications that GM Jim Hendry is focusing on “the likes of” Nick Johnson if the medicals look good enough. Johnson appeared in just 24 games last year, but has a .401 career on base percentage and doubles power. A year ago the Cubs signed another former Yankee coming off an injury-plagued season, but the Xavier Nady deal didn’t work out as well as the Cubs hoped.
• Hendry is keeping an eye on Kerry Wood, a player who would reportedly interest the Cubs at the right price. The GM says he has a “wonderful relationship” with Wood, but insisted that it would be foolish to get into specifics.
• The Cubs don’t have a firm payroll, but it still appears that the team will spend less than it did in 2010.

There's no weather-related delay for these links; here's the best from around the web this week…

• Capitol Avenue Club provides a primer for the Braves' offseason.
• Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors explains how Mark Teixeira built the AL Champion Rangers.
• The Baseball Opinion re-lives Sandy Alderson's biggest trade.
• DRays Bay compiles Andrew Friedman's offseason to-do list.
• Meanwhile, The Process Report thinks about Nick Johnson as a cheap option for the Rays.
• Drunk Jays Fans reacts to the John Farrell hiring and more.
• Baseball Analytics breaks down Pat Burrell's resurgence.
• Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wonders if Ivan DeJesus should get a crack at the Dodgers second base job next year.
• Disciples of Uecker says it's time for Josh Butler to put up or shut up. The Brewers acquired Butler for Gabe Gross in 2008.
• Yankeeist wonders what would have happened if the Yankees managed to acquire Dan Haren this summer.
• SPANdemonium compares the Rangers, Rays and Royals.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Wood, 33, posted a 0.69 ERA with 10.7 K/9 in 24 regular season appearances for the Yankees, and was outstanding in the playoffs. It would have cost the Yankees $11MM to exercise the righty's 2011 option, so turning it down was presumably easy for GM Brian Cashman and the rest of the team's front office.

Berkman, 34, batted just .255/.358/.349 after the Yankees acquired him from the Astros in a July trade. Johnson performed worse than that in his 98 plate appearances. The 32-year-old posted a .167/.388/.306 line in his return to the Bronx. Like Berkman, he reached base without providing any pop. 

Picking up Brackman's option was a formality. The 24-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in the minors last year, reaching Double-A for the first time, so the Yankees weren't about to let him go.