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Dateline: Cincinnati
Emilio Pagan added a unique facet to his reinvention as a closer.
Sales professionals know the salesman's mantra, ABC; Always Be Closing. The veteran reliever, who took over the closer's role in the Reds' bullpen with 32 saves, sold his friend and former teammate, Pierce Johnson, to sign with the Reds today.
The pair became close in 2020 and 2021 as teammates with the San Diego Padres and talk to each other frequently.
Johnson, the 34-year old right hander, was granted free agency by the Atlanta Braves on November 6. His free agency ended today with a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2027.
Pagan started the sales process on his good friend.
"Absolutely (I sold him), I talked to him every day since his option was declined," Pagan said. "I talked to him nearly every day. I told him Atlanta did him a favor. I told him that he was going to get at least a two-year deal somewhere. I pumped to have him. He's a great dude, great pitcher, great family. The Reds' fans are going to really enjoy watching him."
So what was the pitch, the sales pitch, that turned Johnson into a Reds' player?
"I told him just come play (here) with me," Pagan said.
That wasn't enough.
"I talked about our kids being together. My daughter gets along with his kids. They just had a new born. My wife loves helping take care of babies. I told him you have another built in little helper here. My wife and his wife, Chrissy, are real close. I was trying hard to make it happen. It did. I/m excited."
Pagan was 2-4 with a 2.88 ERA last season in 70 games after he took over as the bullpen closer from Alexis Diaz with a career-high 32 saves.
He felt he let himself and his team down in 2024 and determined to make up for it.
"No one predicted that I'd have 32 saves. We get paid a lot of money and I felt that I didn't do what was expected of me in my first year here. I wanted to put my best foot forward last year. Did I anticipate doing what I did? No. Being able to finish strong; throwing four of the last five days of the season, that was a blast. I had a great time. I expect to deliver close to that or even better this year."
Pagan worked at perfecting the delivery that coach Matt Tracy recommended last year.
"I worked a lot with Matt Tracy last year with my delivery," Pagan revealed. "I've always been a guy that strides across my body. He was telling me I was banging my head against the wall. He said that if I stride open with your delivery. I think it will work out better. He was right. The more that I began to stride even with home plate or slightly open, my velo (velocity) jumped; my command jumped. the action on all my pitches was better. I've been focused on that until it feels more and more natural."
Johnson, 34, pitched to a 3-3 record with a 3.05 ERA across 65 appearances with the Braves this past season. He retired 26 consecutive batters over a span of 9 outings from April 19 to May 10, the longest-such streak by any Major League reliever in 2025.
Selected by the Cubs in Compensation Round A (43rd overall) of the 2012 first-year player draft, Johnson has pitched in 8 Major League seasons with Chicago (2017), San Francisco (2018), San Diego (2020-22), Colorado (2023), and Atlanta (2023-25). In 2023, Johnson set career highs in several categories, including games (67), innings (62.2), strikeouts (90), and saves (13).
Johnson owns a 1.50 ERA across 12 career Postseason outings for San Diego (2020, '22) and Atlanta (2023, '24). Of his 12 Postseason appearances, all but one have been scoreless. He appeared in each of the Padres' first 5 games of the 2020 Postseason, becoming the third pitcher in club history to appear in 5 or more consecutive Postseason games.
Johnson was born in Denver. He spent the 2019 season with Nippon Professional Baseball's Hanshin Tigers, where he was recognized as NPB All-Star after ranking second among Central League relievers in ERA (1.38), strikeouts (91), and holds (40). Johnson pitched collegiately at Missouri State University (2010-12), where as a junior in 2012 he set a single-season program record with 119 strikeouts.
The Reds designated for assignment RHP Yosver Zulueta to make a roster space for Johnson.
Cincinnati's 40-player roster is at capacity.
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