Back in November, the Braves decided not to pick up the club options for both Tyler Kinley and Pierce Johnson. Atlanta re-signed Kinley in January. However, Pierce Johnson won’t be back, as the Reds have reportedly signed the veteran reliever to join their bullpen for the 2026 campaign.
A Look at Johnson
The Braves acquired Pierce Johnson from the Rockies during the 2023 season, a season that saw him net plenty of strikeouts but was also hit around. Once he joined the Braves, Johnson became a key piece of the Braves’ bullpen that season, as the right-hander struck out 32 over 23.2 IP, along with a sub-1.00 ERA.
Johnson stayed with the Braves through the end of the 2025 campaign. Now 34 years of age, Johnson remained a viable, important part of that bullpen the following two seasons. This past year, Johnson struck out 59 over 59 and posted a 3.05 ERA.
His .303 wOBA ranked just below the league median among the 221 relievers who pitched in at least 30 games last season.
The bread-and-butter of Johnson’s arsenal is a hard curveball. It’s not a big breaker but one that has a velocity behind it; Johnson’s curveball sat in the mid-to-high-80s during the 2025 campaign, roughly where it has over the past few years.
While it was a big swing-and-miss pitch with the Rockies, Johnson was willing to routinely use that pitch in the zone. Yes, it did get hit around when it was left up and stayed too true. Johnson conceded 13 home runs off that pitch over the last two years.
But on the other hand, it also induced a lot of weak air contact. Since the 2023 season, 19 batted balls off Johnson’s curveball were considered pop-ups by Statcast. That total was good for the eighth-most in the Majors, even more impressive given that most of the pitchers above him (sans Jimmy Herget) were starters.
Johnson used that curveball 72% of the time in 2025. Aside from that pitcher, Johnson used a four-seamer that sat in the mid-90s, coupled with a cutter to mainly use against right-handers. However, in 2025, he used it slightly more against left-handed hitters.
Right-handed hitters slashed .231/.250/.372 (.622 OPS) off him last season. Left-handed hitters fared better, with a slash line of .255/.364/.436 (.800 OPS). However, he conceded four home runs against both lefties and righties each.
The New York Post first confirmed the Reds’ signing of Pierce Johnson.
Analysis
The Reds continue to add to their bullpen. Earlier this winter, Cincinnati brought back closer Emilio Pagan. A few weeks later, Ohio native Caleb Ferguson was signed to give the Reds a left-handed reliever for the 2026 campaign.
Giving opposing teams different looks is an important characteristic for any team’s bullpen. Right now, the Reds are in a good position to do that.
Johnson is a big curveball pitcher, a stark contrast from Pagan’s fastball/splitter combo, Graham Ashcraft‘s sinker/cutter, Connor Phillips‘ fastball/sweeper combo, and Tony Santillan‘s low arm slot and three-pitch mix. Those five are likely set to make up the nucleus of the Reds’ bullpen, from a right-handed pitching perspective.
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