CINCINNATI (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Cincinnati ended up re-signing him he was like, \u2018You\u2019re coming here. We’re getting it done.’ When you have your best friend selling you on something, it\u2019s easy to buy in,\u201d Johnson said after signing a $6.5-million, one-year contract on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CINCINNATI (AP) \u2014 Pierce Johnson already knew how formidable the Cincinnati Reds were last year after facing 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