PEORIA, Ariz. -- Asked how miserable he was in a 2013 season in Toronto filled with arm pain and hard-hit balls, Josh Johnson chuckled and shook his head. "Miserable might be an understatement," Johnson said Friday. "It was like two innings and all of a sudden eight runs are on the board. I had no idea what was going on. It was crazy." The right-hander was able to crack a smile in part because he has a surgically repaired elbow and a fresh start with the San Diego Padres, a combination he hopes will help him return to the form that included two All-Star selections and a National League-best 2.30 ERA with the Marlins in 2010. "Before he got hurt, to me, he was the most dominating pitcher in the National League and probably in the major leagues," said Joaquin Benoit, another of the Padres off-season pitching acquisitions. "It will be really good if hes healthy. Hes going to be a really big piece for our rotation." Thats the plan for the normally thrifty Padres, who opened spring training Friday with the first workout for pitchers and catchers sporting a new look and a higher payroll. The Padres signed Benoit away from Detroit with a two-year, $15.5 million deal to be their setup man, and inked Johnson to a one-year, $8 million deal after his terrible season with the Blue Jays in hopes he can be an anchor in their rotation. "Physically, mentally hes in a good spot," manager Bud Black said of Johnson. That was not the case last year, or the past few seasons. After going a combined 26-11 with 377 strikeouts for the Marlins in 2009-10, he had his season cut short a year later with shoulder trouble. He went just 8-14 with a 3.81 ERA in 2012 before he was traded to the Blue Jays after the season. The 6-foot-7 Johnson said he struggled with his "extension" in Toronto because of elbow problems. It led to command issues, and getting balls up in the strike zone in hitter-friendly Rogers Centre proved costly. Johnson went 2-8 with a 6.20 ERA and allowed 15 home runs in 16 starts as the Blue Jays were one of the more disappointing teams in baseball. After undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow Oct. 1, the Blue Jays decided not to give him a qualifying offer. Johnson then told his agent he wanted to play for San Diego or San Francisco, so he could be closer to his Las Vegas home. Moving to a pitcher-friendly park wouldnt hurt, either. Knowing hed likely have to accept a one-year deal, he took the Padres offer, taking a pay cut from the four-year, $39 million deal he signed with the Marlins. Now he joins a franchise looking to rebound from consecutive 76-86 seasons, with free agency looming again next off-season. "I want to get to the playoffs. I want to be in that atmosphere, to be throwing in October," said Johnson, who turned 30 last month. "If you go out there and you perform, the moneys going to be there." Johnson, who has thrown off a mound five times since the surgery, threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session with catcher Yasmani Grandal on Friday morning without problems. Black said hell throw again on Sunday and that hes on the same schedule as the rest of the healthy starters. "The short time Ive been around him, I love his mindset, I love his makeup, his mentality, his aggressiveness," catcher Nick Hundley said. "I think his body of work kind of speaks for itself. Hes a multiple-time All-Star. He led the league in ERA. I dont think you luck into those types of things. "Were excited to have him. Now hopefully he stays healthy and he can be out there a lot for us." NOTES: Black said they "probably wont" carry three catchers, signalling its an important camp for Grandal, who is recovering from knee surgery. . 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It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . Signs of a turnaround have emerged in this series at Minnesota. Brian Roberts had three doubles and a triple for the first four-extra-base-hit game of his 14-year career, and the Yankees used their bullpen to preserve a 6-5 win over the Twins on Friday.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Roush Fenway Racing enters a season of rebuilding following a self-described brutal 2014 that included just two Sprint Cup wins and top driver Carl Edwards defection to Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the year.Although RFR placed two cars in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, the organization failed to win in the second-tier then-Nationwide Series and team president Steve Newmark said the company fell well short of expectations. There were organizational changes this off-season, he said.If you had walked through the halls of Roush Fenway during the latter part of last season, there would have been a high level of dissatisfaction, Newmark said Wednesday at NASCARs annual media tour. We set goals for ourselves and didnt meet them.Edwards won both Cup races for RFR last season and reached the third round of the Chase before being eliminated.Greg Biffle qualified for the Chase on points, but was ousted in the first round. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didnt even make it that far with his second season at RFR turning out worse than his first.As the season kept going, we kept sliding and sliding, Stenhouse said. We were glad the season came to an end so we could stop sliding.Newmark said that led to plenty of soul searching — and changes — trying to figure out how to get back on top.Bob Osborne, who helped Edwards win 18 Cup races between 2004 and 2012, has returned to RFR as crew chief for Trevor Bayne, who replaces Edwards and will drive the No. 6 Ford.Also, Nick Sandler, former lead engineer under Jimmy Fennig on the No. 99 team of Edwards, will be the crew chief for Stenhouses No. 17 team. Greg Puccia will remain crew chief for veteran Biffle and the No. 16 car.Newmark said more money has been invested in the operation in an effort to produce better results.We felt like we werent giving the drivers the equipment they needed to succeed, Newmaark said.dddddddddddd We had talented drivers, but we werent giving them the equipment to maximize their talent.Biffle will look to provide some needed stability at RFR, which also lost Matt Kenseth following the 2012 season. Biffle said with only limited testing allowed by NASCAR this off-season it has been an agonizing few months for an organization eager to get back on the track.But he believes that may be a blessing in disguise as it gave RFR a chance to look at where we made the wrong turn in the road.We have some new people in and when you are racing every week and trying to do this and testing and over at Nashville and doing all these things, you are looking at the problem down low, Biffle said. It wasnt until we got up higher and really looked at the landscape we decided we made some wrong decisions back possibly over a year ago on the direction with our cars.Biffle said the team has found things theyve done wrong in the past and begun to correct them. Team owner Jack Roush was particularly disappointed with his teams performance on 1 1/2- and two-mile tracks last year, traditionally a strength for RFR teams.As for losing Edwards, Roush compared it to free agency in the NFL and NBA.This sport has changed and it has taken on the vestiges of other big-time entertainment where people move around to earn some money and sometimes to improve on chemistry, Roush said. I think he just wanted to try his luck elsewhere.How long it will take for RFR to resurface as a top competitive team remains to be seen.I dont think there is a magic bullet or some elixir that all of a sudden is going to come out, but it will come out over time, Newmark said. Whether it manifests itself at Atlanta or Texas, I think youre going to see improvement on the intermediate tracks. ... We will have to have some patience, but we will come out with some improvement. ' ' '