Philadelphia Phillies fans could have sent A's fans some kind of smoke signal for them to beware of Seth Johnson, but unfortunately the two clubs are too far apart for that to work.
On Aug. 6 in Cincinnati, Johnson made his debut with the A's after being traded from the Phillies just ahead of the 2026 deadline buzzer. Philadelphia got Colby Thomas in return to help rectify a growing need for another outfielder, but the team will keep him with Triple-A Lehigh Valley for now.
So, instead of seeing what they had in Thomas, Phillies fans simply sat back and enjoyed an "I told you so" moment as Johnson gave up a home run in the seventh inning against JJ Bleday in the Athletics' 6-5 loss. Considering Johnson was optioned four times by the Phillies, the fans aren't surprised that he didn't have a ringing debut in his new home.
Former Phillies reliever Seth Johnson gave up decisive home run in Athletics' debut
Bleday's home run off Johnson came on a first-pitch four-seam fastball right over the plate, sailing 406 feet to right-center field. And that's pretty much the scouting report on Johnson. He throws his fastball nearly half the time, and opponents were hitting .273 off that pitch going into his debut. So basically, sit fastball and expect for it to catch a ton of plate. To further prove that, Eugenio Suárez doubled off Johnson's fastball on the second pitch of his at-bat two batters later.
Johnson ended up going two innings, allowing one run on three hits. His saving grace is that he struck out four batters and walked none. Johnson had an 11.0 K/9 this season entering Thursday, but also sported a 7.7 BB/9.
In a way, there was a silver lining to the right-hander's debut. If he can continue to rack up the strikeouts while keeping walks to a minimum, he could eventually get on the good side of A's fans. But allowing a late home run in a contest that ended up tightening into a one-run game on Thursday won't earn him any points just yet.
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