Why Joe Jiménez and Pierce Johnson, two relievers, picked the Braves instead exploring free agency

After last season, Pierce Johnson and Joe Jiménez could have tested free agency. They earned that right and could have gauged their value on the open market.

Instead, both re-signed with the Braves before they made it to free agency – Johnson on Oct. 25, Jiménez on Nov. 2. (Technically, Jiménez would’ve become a free agent Nov. 2, the day after the World Series, but that is the day the team announced his deal.) Both relievers wanted to stay with the Braves.

Before the offseason, Jiménez talked to Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and made his preference known.

“Hey, I would love to stay here,” Jiménez remembers saying.

And around the same time, Jiménez communicated with his representation that he would love to stay in Atlanta. If Anthopoulos wanted to discuss re-signing Jiménez, the reliever told his agent, then Jiménez would be open to it.

Johnson, on the other hand, had no idea what free agency had in store. After a roller-coaster season in which the Rockies traded him to the Braves, he didn’t have a conversation with his agent. They figured they would stand still, hit free agency and see if the Braves called. When they did, Johnson was elated.

“We talked about it, but ultimately, this was a place that I wanted to be and to stay,” Johnson said. “And even before I came here, this was a place that, from the outside looking in, I always wanted to come to. And this is a team built to win – not just win now, but built to win for a while.”

The Braves signed Johnson to a two-year contract worth a guaranteed $14.25 million. They gave Jiménez a three-year, $26 million deal.

Why are the Braves so special to both men? “I mean, what isn’t special here?” Johnson said.

“I mean, let’s be honest. You got a team that’s ready to win and built to win for a long time. I’m at the point in my career that I don’t know how many years I got left. I’m gonna play as long as I can, right? But I wanna win. This is obviously a team that’s built to win, No. 1. No. 2, the locker room here is incredible. Amazing guys, top to bottom. Coaching staff, facilities. It’s just such a fun group to be around, and I’ve truly enjoyed myself from day one getting here. And it’s also a team that really wanted me at the All-Star break, right? I hadn’t really thrown the greatest, and I felt valued, and when a player feels valued, I feel like you get the most out of it. That was something for me is I felt valued, and they called before I could even test free agency, and that meant a lot to me.”

“They make everything easy, and you just need to worry about playing baseball,” Jiménez said. “It’d been a long time before last year that, for me, playing baseball means something. We gotta win, we want to win. It’s crazy to say, man, because obviously I was on a professional team before. But Atlanta, it’s like you’re trying to win from the get-go. Spring training matters, every practice matters, every rep matters. From the weight room to the training room to food, they make everything easy for you just to be successful, and they help you. It’s just those little things that, for me, matter a lot. And the treatment for my family, that meant a lot. Just like all things combined. And obviously the great team that we have.”

As you can tell, winning was their top priority. The Braves are the place to do that. They won the World Series in 2021, and their team is even better now. They have a talented core that will be in place for years to come. They have won the division six years in a row and are the favorites to do it again this season.

But something else that players rave about is what Jiménez mentioned: The Braves take care of players’ families. This helps the players focus on, well, playing.

“This is by far the best that I’ve ever had anybody take care of my family,” Johnson said. “And it just takes such a weight off our shoulders, right?”

This was especially relieving for Johnson, who went from Colorado to the Braves before the deadline. He has a wife and two kids.

“The fact that my wife has people to lean on like that and know that she’s truly taken care of, it gives me the peace of mind going out there, that I’m not going to the bullpen and thinking, ‘Oh, I hope my wife got her ticket, I hope she parked, I hope she’s safe, I hope the kids are OK,'” Johnson said. “I know everything is golden because they are the best at what they do.

“And honestly, that was another big piece of this decision for us was, if I know my family is taken care of, I’ll play on the moon. And this place is the best at what they do. So my wife was over the moon when they called.”

Jiménez said the Braves have even helped coordinate matters outside of baseball, like doctor’s appointments. They help players with anything and everything.

When you think of people in the organization, players, coaches and front-office members come to mind. But clubhouse staffers, athletic trainers and others also are important in a player’s experience.

Since the Braves acquired him from Detroit in the offseason before the 2023 season, Jiménez has noticed the work ethic of the clubhouse employees. The trainers, he said, always have tried to better him. He worked closely with them after the trade as he rehabbed following back surgery.

“When you’re in the big leagues, it’s really hard to get people like that just because they think that, ‘OK, you’ve made it here, so you know what you gotta do,'” Jiménez said.

“But here, they just say, ‘You’re here, but let’s try to keep going, push’ and all that.” Then there’s a cliché-but-important factor: The Braves’ clubhouse chemistry is strong. This matters. Both pitchers felt welcomed. They love the atmosphere, which Anthopoulos has worked hard to build.

On a July day last summer, Johnson walked into the tiny visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park. He had just been traded, so he had only a Rockies bag with him. Right away, new teammates went up to welcome him, the same way they did for Jiménez in spring training.

Going into the offseason, Jiménez didn’t realize he could get a multi-year deal. When he knew the Braves were open to signing him to a three-year deal, he was happy because he wouldn’t have to move anywhere else soon.

“The money’s good, but I think I am in a position that I want to win now, and I think every guy in this clubhouse is the same,” Jiménez said. “We want to win now. It’s (about) winning for us.”

At one point in the interview, Jiménez was asked when he knew he wanted to stay in Atlanta. He said it became clear for him throughout last season, when he began learning how the organization functioned. He met his teammates and coaches, and other staffers. He saw how the organization had his back, whether he pitched well or poorly. Then he mentioned the Braves’ loyal fans.

“I can keep going with things,” Jiménez said, “because I can’t find something that doesn’t work.”