At the outset of the offseason, the Braves made a surprising move to decline their club option on veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud despite prior indications being that they’d planned to exercise the option. Things turned out just fine for d’Arnaud, who signed a two-year deal with the Angels shortly thereafter, but the decision came back to bite Atlanta when starting catcher Sean Murphy suffered a cracked rib that will keep him out of action through at least the middle of April.
When Murphy missed time due to an oblique issue last year, d’Arnaud was there to step in as a capable regular option. This year, they’ll have no such ready-made answer locked and loaded on the roster. That’s not to say the club has no internal options; youngster Drake Baldwin is a well-regarded prospect who already seemed likely to make his MLB debut at some point this year, and Chadwick Tromp was already in line to make the roster as the club’s backup catcher. Baldwin has raked this spring to the tune of a .368/.520/.474 slash line, and perhaps that’s enough to convince Atlanta brass to give him the reins for the start of the season while Murphy recovers.
However, it’s hardly a reliable solution to the issue. Baldwin has yet to take a major league at-bat, and he struggled offensively at the Double-A level just last year before turning his season around upon his promotion to Triple-A. And if Baldwin proves unprepared to handle the big leagues, Tromp isn’t a viable starting option. The soon to be 30-year-old backstop has just 59 games and 156 plate appearances under his belt over parts of five seasons in the majors. In that time, he’s hit just .232/.237/.397 with a wRC+ of 66. While it’s not impossible to imagine more regular playing time in the majors allowing Tromp to perform better, 47 catchers produced more offense that Tromp’s career numbers across at least 100 plate appearances in the majors last year.
The Braves do have a pair of non-roster invitees in camp who could step in, but neither inspires confidence. Sandy Leon didn’t play in the majors at all last year, last had even 100 plate appearances in a season back in 2021, and is a career .208/.276/.311 hitter. Fellow NRI Curt Casali has a somewhat stronger track record, having played at least 40 games in the majors every year since 2018 (excluding the 60-game 2020 season where he appeared in 31 games for the Reds), but hit just .194/.293/.250 for the Giants in 125 trips to the plate last year.
Given all of the uncertainty facing Atlanta, an external addition can’t be ruled out. It’s been reported that the club made an offer to Yasmani Grandal even prior to Murphy’s injury. While Grandal turned that deal down, it signals the club already had reservations about its catching depth and it’s at least possible that the sides could circle back to each other with Opening Day fast approaching and additional playing time having opened up for Grandal.
Other options on the free agent market are few and far between. James McCann and Yan Gomes remain unsigned, but other options could emerge in the coming days as veterans on minor league deals with other teams begin to get the opportunity to opt out and return to free agency.
Jorge Alfaro, Omar Narvaez, and Tucker Barnhart are among the veterans in camp with other clubs who could return to free agency if they don’t make their current club’s Opening Day roster. It’s also at least possible that a club with an excess of catching options on the 40-man roster like the Twins could either make one of their backstops available on waivers or via trade, though trades of particular note are quite rare at this stage of the calendar. While none of the options likely to be available are game changers, they could offer a higher floor than any of Atlanta’s current options and allow the club to avoid rushing Baldwin to the majors.
How do you think the Braves will approach the situation? Will they take Murphy’s injury as an opportunity to give Baldwin regular playing time and stand pat with their internal options, or will they instead look to upgrade over a potential tandem of Baldwin and Tromp by bringing in a more reliable veteran to help handle the pitching staff? Have your say in the poll below:
Sean Murphy has been a bit of a disappointment.
A’s fans have seen this version of Sean Murphy since he was drafted unfortunately…just can never stay healthy
He’ll be fine! He has such a violent swing, so that oblique injury must’ve really affected him last year. If he can get healthy, he’ll match Cal Raleigh in production and defense, if not more.
Been on the IR once—when season starts will be his 2nd time. Really ‘can’t stay healthy?’
Yeah he had one season with OAK that he was like top three in games started. Can’t blame a guy for getting hit with a pitch.
A’s and Braves lost that three team trade
Same question could be asked of the Padres whose catcher situation is far more dire.
Pads will roll with Campusano and Diaz
Diaz is an OK backup catcher. Campusano can’t catch or throw out runners and is not even a very good hitter.
look you don’t need to sugar coat it – give me the facts./s
I feel like Tromp gets overlooked.
I think he’s a decent player and an MLB caliber backup.
Now that the first-stringer is out for a while, he can step up to the plate and should hold his own.
(Pun intended.)
They need to get somebody or just let Drake Baldwin play. Tromp is not worth a sheet!
Sandy Leon had a decent year with the Cubs catching who might be a all star this year
He’s been hitting well of late, and coaching up Baldwin. And it should be noted that Leon caught Sale in BOS, so there’s a lot of familiarity there.
I thought Leon had retired. Son of a gun.
What? Sandy Leon did not play for the Cubs last year. He didn’t play for anyone in ’24 and he’s never taken an at bat or made an appearance for the Cubs.
@16: Leon played for the Braves AAA Gwinnett team in 2024.
Maybe you’re confusing Yan Gomes? But, he okayed so poorly last year he was DFA’d.
Letting Travis roll out to save six mil was definitely a bonehead move .
A very rare misstep by AA
If all teams can have a 36-year old $8M back-up catcher. Do the richest teams: NYM/LAD?
I wouldn’t say that, the whole trade for Murphy was a misstep from the very beginning. Murphy is good (when healthy) but never made sense to trade Contreras.
Gimme a break. From the beginning it was the right move, especially when they extended him. He’s been on the the IL twice in 7 seasons (when he goes on the IL to start the season). That’s ridiculous at the most physical position in MLB. Contreras matured defensively in MIL, a place that has done that more than once with catchers, and became the player he may not have ever in ATL. Not sure William’s ribs could survive a 95mph FB from a minor league pitcher either.
No it wasn’t! We had a catcher who was younger, cheaper and just hit 20 home runs. Then we traded for an older catcher, gave him tons of money, plus gave up Langeliers. In what world was that the right move?….Murphy was awesome for those first 2.5 months in a Braves uniform, but has been an absolute bust ever since. Give me Contreras back all day long; AA got fleeced in that trade and it was his own making.
No. This is not true. If you look at what was happening at the time of the Murphy trade. I love Contreras and I have followed him every step of the way in the minors. The Braves felt and hoped he would become better catcher than his older brother and I think he has. At the time of the trade the pitchers did not like throwing to him. Once he was traded he changed how he approached catching. He has done a much better job with the Brewers. At the time the Braves had a chance to get a top 5 catcher over all defense and offense. Contreas was not able to handle the pitching the way the Braves needed him to. So they traded for a top over all catcher. His 1st season was marred by dehydration and they were giving him IV’s etc in the 2nd half of his 1st year due to the heat. It is a big adjustment playing in the Deep South. The 2nd season he had an injury. He is a top 5 catcher In the game every year. When Contreras was traded no one thought they were losing a great defensive catcher only a great bat who plays catcher. Contreras has gotten better and that is amazing. But to complain about AA getting Murphy is only possible by ignoring what everyone who knew Contreras his entire pro career at that point believed. Even still Murphy has only been on the IL twice his entire pro career. Injury prone at a position where every pitch can take you out for a year. Murphy is not made of glass by any stretch.
I get the defensive liabilities of Contreras, but what you’re seeing now is the abilities are in fact there. That’s on the Braves not trying to develop him and not attempting to further that success after what was clearly a break out season….Saying Murphy has only been on the IL twice is a little misleading being those 2 stints will total 4 months. No matter how we spin it Murphy has only 2 great months with Braves, and now it’s already looking like another season starting off in negative net position. Hindsight be danged, I personally didn’t like the Trade from the jump.
You have the benefit of hindsight. Murphy was coming off a 5 fWAR season in Oakland when the trade was made and had a 4.9 fWAR season his 1st season in ATL. There’s tons of evidence that last year was an anomaly for Murphy, including him being one of the most unlucky hitters in baseball. He hit the ball just as hard as he always has, but was just hitting the ball on the ground too much. You could easily chalk the launch angle problems up to never getting comfortable after the early season oblique, which he has admitted. As for Contreras, there’s being sub-par defensively, and then there’s having your starters complain about throwing to you. If your pitchers don’t have trust in you, you can’t be a big league catcher. Good on Contreras for fixing some of those issues in Milwaukee, but to say it was immediately some huge misstep by AA is to ignore all context for why the trade actually happened in the 1st place
@Fowlerrc: Well said and absolutely right.
‘An absolute bust’ — don’t you think he knew he wasn’t alright last season – and labored through the season when some would have gone back on the IL, and ATL wouldn’t have been shorthanded, with an inferior battery mate catching the league’s best pitching? That would have most likely had them miss the playoffs.
Yes, Murphy was bad offensively, but does he not get credit for the league’s best staff, or catching Sale’s best games and helping guide the staff? The issue is that so many are so quick to judge on the easy to discern stats, but when there’s nothing on BR to judge his total performance, fans just think the worst. Like since he was hitting under the Mendoza, he was a total bust during 2024 (despite having a higher WAR than d’Arnaud, playing in less time).
@DMC: Also well said and absolutely spot on—-as usual. Intangibles make catching the toughest position to evaluate. Casual fans can’t see past the hitting stats. Pitchers and astute FO’s like Atlanta’s can and do.
I’m clearly in the minority which is fine. But when you give Murphy that extension, you’re paying for someone who can hit as well. There’s plenty of cheap Catchers who are great defensively who can’t hit and would be way cheaper if that’s what everyone is more concerned with, why not just go that route if that’s more important? I’m not saying Murphy can’t hit, except that he hasn’t for awhile now….all I’m saying is the Trade didn’t work out as hoped. And yes us ‘casual fans’ just simply watch every game and we let you ‘very intelligent fans’ worry about WAR stats. Right now, today, give me Contreras and Langeliers over Murphy simple as that.
You are basing your lament on a feeling. If you look at what was going on at the time the trade was a reasonable one. Saying because Murphy signed a reasonable contract extension where he left money on the table he ‘should’ hit better. Sure have that idea if you want. You seem to want to ignore how catchers get hit and hurt and missing 3 or 4 months (we won’t know for sure till he comes off the IL) for his entire career—is a bit of an emotional perspective. As in whiny and let the ‘smart fans’ who actually give you good information to maybe listen. You would rather have Contreas and Lang’s okay. I would rather Lopez come back In A Time Machine and replay his roid aided catching season every year for the Braves. Neither of us will get what we wish playing for the Braves in 25. None of that has to do with Murphy. In year 5 or so of the contract you will have enough data to say which catcher is/was/would have been better in a Braves uniform. Ignoring how the pitchers at the time hated pitching to Contreas which gave him the impetus to change how the Braves kept trying to get him to do. I am glad he is doing well because I am a big big fan of Contreas—-and Langs for that matter.
I agree with you, but I also agree with the others on this topic. Contreras is an awesome catcher now and it would be great if the braves had this form of him and not the one that they did have which was still a good offensive catcher but with poor defense, so we made the trade for murphy who was both good offensively and defensively. I liked the trade then and maybe not as much now as I did, but murphy can definitely have a bounce back season and be back to form and we won’t even think of any of this again. Langliers is also a catcher that has come into his own on a different team but you have to think that before we traded him as well he had fallen in the catching order behind d’arnaud and Contreras. It may sting looking at how two atlanta catchers have ended up becoming great catchers on other teams, but we rolled the dice on an at the time even better catcher both offensively and defensively which was very understandable. I’m super happy for Contreras and langliers but I’m also excited to see murphy have a bounce back season and prove everyone wrong and that he still belongs atop the list of best catchers in the league. As far as Baldwin I hope we look at the trades we’ve made by trading our younger catchers away and actually hang on to him. I think he will be great and I’d love to see him and murphy both catch in tandem just like murphy did with d’arnaud. But this should also say something in that the braves definitely know how to draft catchers and evaluate them well. When both Contreras and langliers were both coming up through the minors we heard tons of positive things about them, they just had to put it all together. They didn’t with he braves but to know that they finally tapped into that potential with other teams goes to show that even though we traded them, they were definitely right about them so the things I’ve heard about Baldwin man I hope we keep him because he’s had even higher praise than them and I feel like with a veteran like murphy to help guide the younger Baldwin that our future behind the plate is exceedingly special! I’d love to see at some point like I said to have both murphy and Baldwin playing in tandem like murphy and d’arnaud did, but at the same time both playing at such a high level that they are both top 10 catchers! Either way I’m excited and I think as a braves fan, regardless of how or why we got here, you should be excited too. We have a very bright young top 100 prospect catcher, and another veteran who if healthy can and most likely will be a top MLB catcher. I don’t think we should sign anybody. I say rock with Baldwin to start out and see how it goes, and if it goes great when murohy comes back, have them both playing. I hope Baldwin plays so well he never has to see the minor leagues again!
@braveshomer: Sorry if I offended you homer. I said that badly and shouldn’t have made that crack about “casuals.” I certainly don’t see you that way and don’t think I’m any more intelligent than you and others who love baseball as much as I do. Have to admit that I’d rather have seen Contreras at the plate than Murphy last season.
It’s all good @NashvilleJeff, I’ve been called worse and usually deserve it hahaha
Not sure any team had a worse offseason than ATL.
Cardinals.
They just sat on their thumbs waiting for hopefully better (as if) new management to do something next year
They just signed Phil Maton, dang it! What do you want? LOL!
Tromp should change his number to #47 for the lol’s.
Can’t. Due to glavine retired
Dang, #45 it is then (and it’s still funny)
I think they’ll get someone, someone cheap that doesn’t cost a lot.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Braves lock up with the White Sox again in a trade that could help Atlanta’s catching depth.
Chicago has 5 catchers in camp who are all performing well. Veterans Matt Thaiss and Omar Narváez figured to be battling it out for the backup role behind presumed starter Korey Lee.
However, the White Sox 2-top 100 catching prospects, Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero, are also having excellent camps. One of those, likely Keel who is two years older and has more AAA PA’s on his resume, may actually win a roster spot and share the catching duties with Lee. Quero also made his AAA debut last season but is still just 21. It might make sense for the White Sox to let Keel get semi regular reps at the MLB level instead of having him and Quero split time at Charlotte. This could accelerate both catcher development since they both figure to be the White Sox future at the position beginning next season.
All this could lead to both Thaiss and Narváez being available in the coming days days or weeks. The Braves could just wait it out and hope one or both are released or they could be proactive and pick one up sooner so he could acclimate himself to the Braves coaches and pitchers. Picking up a veteran who has already had a full camp would be a better option this late into spring than trying to sign one of the veterans like Yasmani Grandal or James McCann who have had no spring training thus far.
Note: Matt Thaiss is the only catcher vying for an opening day backup role who is currently on the White Sox 40-man roster. The other three, veteran Omar Narváez and the two elite prospects are all NRI’s this spring. Because of his roster status, Thaiss was the presumed favorite to win the backup role behind Korey Lee. The fact that all 5 catchers in camp are healthy and playing well has changed expectations, especially the performance of “advanced” prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero.
The White Sox could also benefit if one of those prospects is promoted to the roster on opening day. The PPI rewards teams for promoting their best prospects to the big leagues at the start of the season, enabling them to earn a Draft pick if said rookies accrue one full year of service time and then factor into a major postseason award.
There are worse places to start building than catcher. Great to hear something positive about the White Sox. Thanks for the post.
You need a defensive catcher who can help a pitching staff first. Hitting is a bonus.
No. In fact, the Braves plan on not using a catcher and just letting pitches hit the umpire.
AA don’t like to spend money if he don’t have to. He’ll rely on in house options unless Baldwin struggles to start the season.
It’s a good opportunity for the Braves to break in another young player. It’s great that the Braves have so many of their players under team control long term, but every team needs to continue to incorporate young players in order to balance the payroll and stave off the sudden decline.
Exactly Don. Perfect time to not only break in a young catcher, but it helps the luxury tax situation as well.
Why would they get another catcher???
How can you write that declining d’Arnaud came back to bite them? There have been zero games played and Murphy will miss a few weeks. Why write in a negative tone implying a result that hasn’t occured yet?
The Braves have some tough luck at C, William Contreras and Shea Langeliers were two prospects they traded away and both have proven themselves at the big league level, could say two of the better catchers in MLB.
You’d think they would be ready to give Drake Baldwin some reps. I don’t know about the service time limitations on Baldwin but Braves have to be somewhat frustrated by the situation.
I really like Langeliers with the A’s. He’s probably going to get extended soon, I’d lock him up anyhow, hit 29 bombs, probably see his AVG. go up some this season. Has a canon for an arm. Braves had the two best catchers in MLB on their farm and squandered them both.
Langeliers changed his representation to Scott Boras shortly after the Braves drafted him. He had no future w/Atlanta after that. W/the exception of Dallas Keuchel in the shortened 2020 season, the Braves haven’t signed a Boras client since the Greg Maddux FA signing in 1993. Contreras’ defensive improvements from 2023 declined last season. He’s still a great bat— especially at catcher. His 131 wRC+ and 5.4 WAR in 2024 made his below average defense bearable. Won’t be too surprised in the near future if the Brewers make him the backup catcher/primary DH to get a better defender at the position. Langeliers was a 2 WAR player w/a sub par 97 wRC+. He’s nowhere near a “top two MLB catcher.” W/out his power he’s a run of the mill average starter/backup.
That’s interesting, I can’t blame them there, he seems to work teams over on some pretty foul deals, but I don’t get into the agents much.
As far as Langeliers goes, that power plays up, he hit for a low average but should improve some, I think he can really hit and he has a canon for an arm. Advanced stats tell the story mathematically, not always the entire story.
There are a lot of good catchers, you’re right about my calling them the two best, that was an overstatement, meant to say they had two of the better catchers in MLB, and I’d contend that both Contreras and Langeliers could be considered that.
The position has certainly improved dramatically over the past few seasons, from an offensive standpoint, catchers are hitting more. Cal Raleigh in Seattle, Miguel Amaya with the Cubs, and a number of good prospects coming up.
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that d”Arnaud and his brother Chase recently opened a Baseball Academy in their Southern Cal hometown. Not a stretch to believe that d”Arnaud wanted the Braves to decline his option so he could finish his career at home. Maybe AA’s strong relationship w/the Angels FO and Ron Washington played a part in the decision as well. Good on AA if he did Travis a solid.
Good point, also note they hired Sal Fasano as well, so b/w d’Arnaud and Fasano, Minasian is doing everything he can to ensure O’Hoppe is given the best path forward to be protected and mature into his role as C of the future.
The Braves built their team assuming stability at key positions, including catcher, which made them comfortable moving on from d’Arnaud. Atlanta’s issue isn’t just Murphy’s injury—it’s that their roster lacks built-in contingencies.
@Old York: The Braves FO apparent belief that Drake Baldwin is ready enough to provide effective starting catching for 2 weeks at the start of the season is a “built in contingency.” So is having 3 backup capable catchers w/MLB experience (Leon, Casali, Tromp.) Casali and Leon are signed to minor league deals. Tromp has no options left, so he probably will be Baldwin’s backup until Murphy returns in mid April. Two weeks or so w/out Murphy isn’t a disaster. Braves fans will be glad to see Baldwin get a couple of weeks (or more) of MLB time to start his career.
Baldwin is ready. Murphy might end up a very expensive backup. He caught Sale in Boston, that tells you a lot i think
Leon caught Sale in Boston. Not Baldwin. Not Murphy.
Trade: Rolddy Munoz for Eric Hasse.