CINCINNATI — Pierce Johnson already knew how formidable the Cincinnati Reds were last year after facing them. It also helped that Johnson’s best friend, Emilio Pagan, is the closer on the Reds’ staff.
“After Cincinnati ended up re-signing him he was like, ‘You’re coming here. We’re getting it done.’ When you have your best friend selling you on something, it’s easy to buy in,” Johnson said after signing a $6.5 million, one-year contract on Thursday.
The 34-year old right-hander was 3-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 65 games last year for Atlanta. That included a streak of 26 batters retired over nine games from April 19 to May 10.
Johnson will be entering his ninth big league season. He gets a $5.5 million salary this year as part of a deal that includes an $8 million mutual option for 2027 with a $1 million buyout.
Johnson’s addition adds a veteran arm to the bullpen after the departures of Scott Barlow, Nick Martinez and Brent Suter. The Reds were eighth in the National League with a 3.89 ERA after making the postseason in Terry Francona’s first season as manager.
“Tito’s gonna run a team that’s going to play the game the right away. That’s something that you notice from the other side. It’s been a lot of good at bats, a lot of pesky hitters,” Johnson said. “I’m excited to get to know these guys and then see see how this year shapes out.”
Johnson can earn $500,000 in performance bonuses for games pitched: $100,000 each for 45 and each additional five through 65. Johnson also can earn $375,000 for games finished: $125,000 apiece for 30, 40 and 50. He would receive a $500,000 assignment bonus if traded.
He is 21-24 with a 3.79 ERA in 328 starts and two relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs (2017), San Francisco (2018), San Diego (2020-22), Colorado (2023) and Atlanta (2023-25). Johnson has a 1.50 ERA in 12 postseason games, 11 of them scoreless.
Cincinnati opened a roster spot by designating right-hander Yosver Zulueta for assignment, then traded him to Seattle for minor leaguer right-hander Dusty Revis. The Mariners designated infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor for assignment.
