In wake of the injury to Sean Murphy, the Braves are reportedly looking at the market for free agent catchers.
“Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the Braves are giving some thought to adding Yasmani Grandal or James McCann. They’re the top two unsigned veteran catchers. Neither player would land more than a couple million dollars on a one-year contract. The Braves would need to decide whether it’s worth rostering a veteran if Murphy only misses the first few weeks of the regular season. Tromp is out of options, so they’d probably wind up cutting a catcher once Murphy returns,” Anthony Franco writes for MLB Trade Rumors.
More depth at any position is never a bad thing, but it certainly feels like the Braves are better off using their resources elsewhere. Sean Murphy isn’t expected to miss but a few weeks of the season, and top prospect Drake Baldwin is already miles better than both Yasmani Grandal and James McCann.
As a Braves fan, I selfishly want to see Drake Baldwin receive as many reps as possible while Sean Murphy is sidelined. He’s more than ready for the opportunity, based on what he’s shown us over the last calendar year. But beyond that, if the Braves have money to spend, there are areas much more in need of addressing than catcher, particularly the bullpen. Adding another proven reliever to the mix before the start of the season would be much more fruitful than a backup catcher who might not be on the roster for more than a few weeks.
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Photo: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire
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