Most overpaid players on the Braves roster for the 2024 season

1) Pierce Johnson, RP

A big trade the Braves made at the trade deadline this past season landed them Pierce Johnson from the Colorado Rockies. Johnson was in the midst of an abysmal year thanks in large part to pitching half the time at Coors Field, but once the Braves got him he was untouchable.

The right-hander posted a 0.76 ERA in 24 appearances, allowing just two earned runs in 23.2 innings pitched with the Braves. He struck out 32 hitters while issuing just five walks, pitching like one of the best relievers in the league in that stretch.

All of that sounds great, but in his career, Johnson has been nothing more than just average at best. He had an ERA over 5.00 in 15 appearances with the Padres in 2022, then was abysmal for the Rockies before suddenly turning things around the second he got to Atlanta. What was most eye-popping was his command suddenly becoming elite. Johnson had never finished a MLB season walking fewer than 4.1 batters per nine. In his Braves stint he walked just 1.9 batters per nine.

There's every reason to believe Johnson will put together one of, if not his best MLB season in 2024, but there's also every reason to believe he won't be anywhere near as good as he was last season with Atlanta. They're not paying him to be as dominant as he was, but $7 million is not cheap for a player who has only been good for two months in the last two years.