ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves made a pair of low-key moves Monday they'll be hoping shore up the bullpen.
In separate trades, Atlanta acquired right-hander Pierce Johnson from the Colorado Rockies and then left-hander Taylor Hearn from the Texas Rangers.
In return for Johnson, the Braves gave up Double-A reliever Victor Vodnik, the team's No. 10 prospect according to MLB.com, and their No. 26 prospect Tanner Gordon, who'd most recently been in the rotation for Double-A Mississippi after a demotion from Gwinnett in early June.
For Hearn, the Braves gave up cash considerations and designated right-hander Dereck Rodriguez for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
Neither Johnson nor Hearn have been highly successful this season - Johnson had a 6.00 ERA in Colorado in 39 innings, Hearn a 10.29 ERA in limited time for Texas - but both have had flashes in the past.
Johnson had a 3.09 ERA across nearly 79 innings for San Diego in 2020-21, and in their release the team pointed to his 4.57 FIP this season, suggesting at a minimum they believe he's pitched better than his surface numbers for the Rockies suggest. His calling card is a hard slider that can generate a lot of swing-and-miss - he has 58 strikeouts in 39 innings this year and a career 11.3 K/9 ratio - but also, given the seven home runs he's allowed this year, can get hit hard when it runs flat.
Leaving Denver's thin air for Atlanta may help him keep that down.
Hearn meanwhile posted a 4.89 ERA in 204 1/3 innings with the Rangers from 2021-22, with a 4.41 FIP that suggests at the least he could be able to eat some innings. He struck out 189 batters in that time.
Braves reporters also pointed out that, with the ability to still be optioned to the minors, Hearn brings roster flexibility - a plus as other injured pitchers return to health.
In a best-case, scouting reports on Hearn say he works in the mid-90s and can hit the high-90s - if the Braves can work with him to correct his long-standing control issues, he could make for a pretty useful swingman type of arm.
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