What are the A's getting in Jared Johnson from the Atlanta Braves?

Jason Burke | Nov 12, 2024

May 1, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Nick Allen (10) throws the ball to first base for an out against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The A's traded shortstop Nick Allen to the Atlanta Braves yesterday in exchange for Jared Johnson, a right-handed reliever that spent the 2024 campaign in High-A Rome.

Johnson, 23, had been ranked as Atlanta's No. 20 prospect by FanGraphs in June, but he was left off of the Braves' top-30 lists at MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. FanGraphs sees him as a 40 future value prospect with a solid fastball/slider combo and poor command. Funnily enough, in June when their list came out, Johnson was ranked right behind former A's prospect Grant Holmes, who ended up pitching Atlanta into the postseason.

FanGraphs had this to say of Johnson in their report: "Johnson is a very physical, high-effort relief prospect who utilizes a slider-heavy approach to pitching. Johnson’s slider will bend in as hard as 94 mph. He hides the ball well and throws with such violence that it often take hitters a second to adjust to his delivery.

"His fastball will touch 99, but Johnson’s very high release point creates a downhill angle that hurts the pitch’s ability to miss bats. Johnson’s stuff is pretty nasty and while his bull-in-a-china-shop control will probably limit him to up/down duty when he debuts, he could pitch his way into a more regular middle relief role if he gains better control of his body in his mid-20s."

Honestly, this seems like a small victory for the A's. Johnson is by no means a sure thing to make an impact at the big-league level, but the Athletics also felt like they'd seen enough from Nick Allen to determine that he was no longer a part of their future plans. Allen is also out of options and would have to remain on the A's 26-man roster throughout the season or be subjected to waivers, where the team would have lost him for nothing.

Johnson is better than nothing and could turn into a solid middle relief arm.

Over at Baseball Trade Values, a tool to use to gauge the value range in a deal, they had this one as pretty even, giving Allen 0.0 value, and Johnson 0.5.

The right-hander held a 2.60 ERA in Rome last season across 52 innings pitched. He also held a 62.6% ground ball rate, struck out 26.4% of batters, and walked 11.7%. He's certainly a work in progress, but this season with the A's in Lansing or Midland should provide him with a path to earn a spot on the 40-man roster, perhaps next winter. Johnson is Rule 5 eligible, and if he performs well in 2025, then the A's would be wise to protect him from the draft by adding him to the 40-man.

Johnson was assigned to High-A Lansing post-trade, and he will either begin the season there and earn a promotion after a brief look, or will be bumped up to Midland after spring training.