Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The trade deadline can be a difficult time of the year for a lot of players. Guys will be forced to pick up their lives and move across the country; others will go from a contending team to the bottom of the barrel. Then there is the Braves newest addition — Pierce Johnson — who went from one of the worst organizations in baseball to the odds-on favorites to win the World Series.

Back in June, the Braves faced off with the Rockies at Truist Park, and it was a series to forget for Johnson’s former team. Atlanta took all four games with each win coming by at least five runs, outscoring Colorado by 28 runs in the series. It was ugly, and Johnson discussed it ahead of his first game as a member of the Braves.

Johnson would follow it up by saying he has nothing but love for the Rockies, but they are on a one-way train to nowhere with no end in sight. The Braves, on the other, hand have only one goal in mind.

The hope is that Johnson can be a critical piece to this team down the stretch and into the postseason. He was a fantastic reliever for the Padres from 2020-2022, and his time in Colorado has been a tale of two stories. At home, his numbers look like something out of a poorly made horror film, but away from Coors Field, there are a lot of signs that he can be a productive piece to a championship team.

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