As the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to scour the market for pitching, the club has expressed interest in free agent reliever Pierce Johnson, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported on Tuesday.
Nothing close on a Ketel Marte trade at this point -Diamondbacks still engaging in discussions with several teams showing interest. Dbacks do have interest in reliever Pierce Johnson as a 7th/8th inning guy out of their bullpen but nothing close on that yet although things can…
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) December 9, 2025
Johnson is a 34-year-old right-hander who threw 59 innings for the Atlanta Braves this past season, primarily as a seventh- and eighth-inning setup man for closer Raisel Iglesias.
The veteran worked a 3.05 ERA last season with a 1.20 WHIP and above-average 24.8% strikeout rate. He owned a 2.15 ERA entering September and 2.48 ERA before giving up four runs in his final outing of the season.
Johnson threw his curveball 72% of the time, more than any other pitcher threw a breaking ball in Major League Baseball. He also supplies a mid-90s mph four-seamer and a cutter.
Opponents hit .197 against him in high leverage situations.
Pierce Johnson Hammers. ⚒️ pic.twitter.com/CCNk1WPYSr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 29, 2024
Johnson previously pitched for the Chicago Cubs (2017), San Francisco Giants (2018), Hanshin Tigers (2019), San Diego Padres (2020-22) and Colorado Rockies (2023).
Arizona needs to bolster its pitching staff, with general manager Mike Hazen telling MLB Network, “We’re gonna try to add as much pitching externally as we can.”
The club has worked a 4.56 team ERA over the past two seasons, better than only the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals and Rockies. The D-backs have the third-most blown saves in that span, struggling to piece together the ninth inning in 2025 given the injuries to A.J. Puk, Justin Martinez and Shelby Miller.
The Diamondbacks have already shown interest in former Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks this offseason and have reportedly agreed to terms with starter Michael Soroka.
