Padres roster review: Pierce Johnson

Sizing up the Padres’ 40-man roster heading into the 2022 season: Pierce Johnson’s curveball has made him a valuable arm in middle relief since resurrecting his career in Japan

Jan. 7, 2022 5 AM PT

Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
2022 opening day age: 30
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
Height / Weight: 6-foot-2 / 204 pounds
How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2019
Contract status: Will make $3 million after the Padres exercised a club option for 2022.
Key 2021 stats: 3-4, 3.22 ERA, 0 saves, 77 strikeouts, 27 walks, 1.26 WHIP, .220 opponent average, 58 2/3 innings (63 games)

Minus-14 — The run value of Johnson’s curveball in 2021, according to Statcast, trailing only Charlie Morton (minus-21), Julio Urias (minus-20) and Padres teammate Joe Musgrove (minus-17). It’s no wonder he threw curveballs (67.5 percent) more often than any other pitcher in the game. Opponents managed just a .207 batting average and .361 slugging percentage against the pitch, which ranked 11^th with an average of 11 inches of horizontal movement and 11^th with 2,886 rotations per minute.

Idle — A Cubs’ first-rounder in 2012, Johnson had a 5.44 ERA over his first 44 2/3 innings in the majors when he accepted an offer in Japan in 2019 that trumped the minor league deals on his plate in the States. He needed only one year to open a door back to the majors. Pushing a plus curveball to the top of his repertoire, Johnson struck out 91 against 13 walks over 58 2/3 innings (1.38 ERA, 0.80 WHIP) with Hanshin. The Padres signed him to a two-year, $4 million big-league deal the following offseason and Johnson thrived as his curveball usage jumped from 28.3 percent in 2018 to 54.2 percent in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season (2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) to 67.5 percent last year. The 2021 season, though, began with Johnson on the injured list with a right groin strain. He also required another 10-day stint with right triceps inflammation. Sandwiched around those stints on the shelf, Johnson set career highs in appearances, innings, strikeouts and holds (9) while continuing to assert his role as a dependable middle-relief arm equally effective against righties (.655 OPS) and lefties (.700 OPS).

The Padres exercised a club option for 2022. Given Johnson’s post-Japan-trajectory and age, he stands to earn quite a bit more in free agency next year if he continues on his post-Japan trajectory.