Braves considering bringing in a free-agent catcher

The Braves will open the season without their starting catcher. Sean Murphy will be down four to six weeks after breaking a rib when he was hit by a Will Kempner pitch last week. Murphy and Chadwick Tromp are the only catchers on the 40-man roster. Atlanta will need to make some kind of move by Opening Day.

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.

The Braves also have a high-upside alternative. Drake Baldwin is one of the top handful of catching prospects in the sport. The former third-round draftee hit .276/.370/.423 with 16 homers between Double-A and Triple-A a year ago. Baldwin spent more than half the season at Triple-A Gwinnett, where he appeared in 72 games. He’ll turn 24 just after Opening Day. Baldwin should play in the majors at some point this year. He could break camp as the starter, which would keep Tromp in the backup role.

Atlanta would need to add Baldwin to their 40-man roster, but they could open a spot by placing Joe Jiménez on the 60-day injured list at any time. An outside acquisition would need to go on the 40-man anyways, so that’s unlikely to be much of a deterrent. Baldwin could get his first look at major league pitching and head back to Gwinnett for regular playing time once Murphy gets healthy.

McCann or Grandal would be less exciting, if arguably steadier, alternatives. They’re both mid-30s veterans who have plenty of experience working with big league pitching staffs. McCann has spent the last two seasons as Adley Rutschman’s backup in Baltimore. He hit .228/.274/.382 during his stint with the Orioles. McCann grades as a below-average pitch framer but has a strong reputation for his work with pitchers. He threw out a slightly above-average 23.5% of base stealers and wasn’t charged with a passed ball in 559 2/3 innings last season.

The switch-hitting Grandal appeared in 72 games for the Pirates. He hit .228/.304/.400 across 243 trips to the plate. That was his best offensive showing since a 23-homer campaign with the White Sox in 2021. Grandal continues to post excellent pitch framing grades, as he has throughout his career. He was charged with five passed balls across 560 1/3 frames, though, and he only managed to nab six of 72 opposing basestealers (an 8.3% rate). Grandal had the slowest pop time — average time to throw to second on steal attempts — among 83 qualified catchers, per Statcast.