Pierce Johnson Brings a New Element, and a Big ‘If,’ to the Contending Braves

The pattern of a reliever bolstering a playoff-bound bullpen persists, but one addition to his pitch rotation could be a spark for Atlanta’s newest depth piece.

The news that the Braves had acquired Pierce Johnson from the Rockies on Monday is an item you have seen a thousand times before and will almost certainly see a dozen more times in the next week.

If “contender acquires minor piece of bullpen depth” is not the oldest story in the annals of deadline baseball news, it’s certainly the most common, the most obvious and the most boring. (As if to hammer home the point, Atlanta immediately acquired yet another reliever, Taylor Hearn from the Rangers, just after picking up Johnson.) But there’s something potentially interesting with this trade.

Johnson played for the Padres, Giants and Cubs before his stint in Colorado :: Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports

The read on Johnson has been the same for years: The righty reliever could be a true asset and strikeout threat if only he could fix his control issues. (The prospect is made more tantalizing by the fact that he’s shown the ability to fix those issues for brief stretches in the past, like during his one season in Japan, which went so well that it resulted in a multiyear contract from the Padres when he returned to MLB.) The 32-year-old’s curveball has always been his calling card, and at its best, the pitch is dazzling. It’s had plenty of opportunities to shine this season: Johnson is striking out more batters than he ever has. His 13.4 K/9 ranks in the top 10 among qualified relievers this year. Great! Or it would be, at least, if he wasn’t also walking more batters than he ever has. His 5.8 BB/9 ranks in the top five among qualified relievers. The result is a 6.00 ERA (85 ERA+) in 39.0 innings pitched this year for the Rockies. In other words, Johnson has looked more himself than ever this season, in ways both good and bad.

That makes him seem like a pretty straightforward option to take a flier on. The upside feels potentially high; the downside is precisely what he’s already been doing. (Atlanta gave up two fairly low-ranked pitching prospects, Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon, in exchange for Johnson.) The Braves’ bullpen has been just fine this year—if a little injury-ridden—and all they’re looking for here is a potential depth piece.

So here’s the interesting part. Johnson introduced a slider to his repertoire for the first time in the major leagues this year. He’s traditionally had only a fastball to play off his curve. But now he’s worked in a new offering with spin, and he’s been relying on the new slider more with each passing month. Take a look from Baseball Savant: 

That’s a curious uptick. The slider has gone from a pitch Johnson had never thrown in a game to one that’s making up a quarter of his arsenal in just a few months. He’s had success with it, too: The whiff rate on the slider is 32%. Johnson has experimented with using it as his put-away pitch—he now has about an even split there between the curve and the slider—and has seen nice results with it. (Again: He has a 13.4 K/9!) Johnson obviously isn’t having a great year in general. (Again: He has a 6.00 ERA!) In addition to the persistent control issues, hitters have also been hammering his fastball harder than ever. But the Braves clearly had to see something here.

And the introduction of that slider seems like it might be at least the foundation of that something. If the Braves see a pathway to getting regular, functional use out of Johnson, perhaps it runs through here. The slider gives him another breaking ball to pair with his curve and means he can rely on the fastball less. Johnson hasn’t found a way to put it together yet. But maybe Atlanta has one for him.