ATLANTA — Pierce Johnson earned himself an extended stay in Atlanta courtesy of the solid relief work he provided after the Braves acquired him from the Rockies in July.
Johnson signed a two-year, $14.25 million deal with the Braves on Wednesday. The 32-year-old right-hander will draw a $7 million salary each of the next two seasons. His contract includes a $7 million team option for the 2026 season, with a $250,000 buyout.
The deal covers Johnson’s final two years of salary arbitration, as well as his first year of free agency, if the Braves exercise the team option for 2026.
Looking to strengthen their bullpen ahead of the Trade Deadline, the Braves targeted Johnson, despite the fact he posted a 6.00 ERA over 43 appearances for the Rockies. With Colorado, Johnson had a 7.23 ERA and a 25.7% strikeout rate in 25 appearances at Coors Field compared with a 4.11 ERA and a 38.7% strikeout rate in 18 road appearances.
Johnson proved even better than expected away from offense-friendly Coors Field. He posted 0.76 ERA and had a 36% strikeout rate over 24 regular-season appearances (23 2/3 innings) for the Braves and then completed three scoreless appearances in the National League Division Series.
With Johnson secured, the Braves might now attempt to re-sign Joe Jiménez, another pending free-agent reliever who became one of their top setup guys down the stretch this year.
Other internal bullpen candidates include closer Raisel Iglesias, A.J. Minter, Nick Anderson, Ben Heller, Daysbel Hernández, Tyler Matzek, Dylan Lee, Jackson Stephens and Michael Tonkin. The Braves’ other pending free-agent relievers are Jesse Chavez, Kirby Yates (team option), Brad Hand (team option) and Collin McHugh (team option).
