him, along with Juan Rivera and Randy Choate, to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vázquez. Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals In 2004, his first season (and last, because of their relocation to Washington at the end of the season) with the Expos, injuries struck again. He could not play until May 28 because of a back injury, and struggled after initial success. By the time his season was ended by a ball hit to first that took a bad hop and broke his cheekbone, he was down to a .251/.359/.398 line. The back injury was another troubling sign regarding his fragility; in addition, the year was considered a disappointment as far as his hitting was concerned. In , with the new Washington Nationals, Johnson compiled a performance more reminiscent of his 2003 season than of his injury-riddled 2004 campaign. He hit .289/.408 (sixth-best in the league)/.479, and had a .478 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position. Johnson batted fourth in the lineup for most of the season, despite the fact that he had a much higher OBP than José Guillén, the three-hole hitter. Just before the 2006 season began, Johnson signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension, with a trade clause after the second year. In , Johnson hit .290/.428/.520, in his best year thus far. The .428 OBP was the 4th-highest in the league. He was second in the NL in walk percentage (18.0%), third in walks (110), seventh in doubles (46) and intentional walks (15), and tenth in times hit by pitch (13). He had a .454 OBP with runners in scoring position. Johnson had his worst season to date in the field, however, with 15 errors. On September 23, 2006, playing against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, Johnson and right fielder Austin Kearns collided while attempting to catch a fly ball. Johnson sustained a broken femur and underwent surgery that night to repair the injury. He missed the entire season, though he still earned $5.5 million. Returning from his broken leg, Johnson played in the Nationals' spring training games in . Though he was off to a rocky start, he regained his form and competed with Dmitri Young, his replacement while injured and the 2007 recipient of the NL Comeback Player of the Year Award, for the role of starting first baseman, and opened the season as the starting first baseman over Young. On March 30,