It didn't make a whole lot of sense to give Johnson away. Sure, they dumped payroll, but you can never have enough pitching, particularly left handers.
I'm guessing that Johnson expressed an interest in going back home to Arizona. He is a low key unassuming guy, who wouldn't air his demands publicly.
That's essentially how I feel. From what I've heard, the sudden death of Johnson's brother elicited a comment to Brian Cashman that he wouldn't object to being traded back towards the west coast. I think Cashman had more of a team chemistry issue than anything else, coupled with what I12 has mentioned about the contract; Johnson already had a hard time in NY, and knowing he'd rather be someplace else is a prospect you'd like to take care of if possible.
We basically got back nothing for Johnson, unless Cashman has a master plan on the table to acquire a Mark Texiera or a Johan Santana by unloading cash and prospects on these teams.
