OK, I usually bite my tongue when people misuse the concept of a "replacement player" but I gotta draw the line here. Sorry, VBF, it's not you (I don't mean to pick on you), it's almost everybody.

The "replacement player" is the imaginary player who can be plugged into a role at zero cost. In MLB terms, the best example of replacement players are six-year minor-league free agents who will sign two-way deals for the major league minimum. Young players who aren't good enough to crack a major league lineup are another source of "actual replacements", but in fact these players aren't the best example because the pool is very limited - for pitchers, there's almost always some young player on the 40-man who can be slotted in, but for position players there often isn't. For pitchers, if you add up what Scott Downs, Chad Gaudin, Brandon League, Dustin McGowan, Matt Whiteside, Shaun Marcum and Justin Miller did, you get "replacement level" (a 5.97 ERA, if you do the accounting, which is just about typical in a league with an ERA around 4.50 - the AL had a 4.35 ERA). As I say, it's much harder for hitters but you get the general idea.

There is no way that Reed Johnson is a "replacement player". He's just about an average major leaguer with the bat, and his defense is quite valuable (though not at a key defensive position).

He is way, way better than the replacement level - on the open market, he would probably command a little more than what the Jays are paying him based on performance. Net Win Shares Value (get your copy of the THT Annual 2006 today, including NWSV calculations for every major leaguer!) has him worth over $1.9 million last year.

If Kevin Cash's legacy vanishes without a ripple, I will be very upset.