Randy Johnson expects to return to the mound for the Giants in 2009 as a reliever. Johnson, 45, is on the 60-day disabled list and has been sidelined since July 6 with a strained left shoulder. The 300-game winner has acknowledged that pitching deep into games would be an issue at this point, making a move to the bullpen likely. "Starting is out for me now, because I've been out for two months," Johnson said Sunday. "When this happened, I was really discouraged. I'm late in my career, not early. It's not something I envisioned. ... It would be nice to come back in some capacity and help the team. Right now I'm just trying to get healthy." The Giants are hoping that he'll be able to throw off the mound later this week.