Sean Murphy's quest of a bounce back campaign took a hit on February 28. The catcher cracked his rib in a Spring Training game against the Miami Marlins, forcing the Atlanta Braves to look in another direction, at least for now, behind the plate.
As it stands, the 23-year-old Drake Baldwin is the most likely to take on the catching duties in Murphy's absence. But does the organization believe he is really ready? Though, there is a somewhat consensus that he very well could be, it isn't a bad idea to bring in a reliable veteran to patch up some of those depth issues.
Murphy's return timeline looks to be four to six weeks, essentially meaning sometime in the middle of April. And if I'm the Braves, I'd likely lean on the side of caution when Murphy inches closer to a return due to his injury history.
Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer suggests Atlanta's resolution should include acquiring the services of a former All-Star and New York Mets — the 34-year-old James McCann.
Considering the Braves may not want to throw Baldwin right into the fire of the major leagues, signing McCann is something they should undoubtedly consider. Similar to Murphy, he is another guy Baldwin can soak in information from. Not only is the brother tough (check the Twitter post below from last season), he is a former All-Star who caught two no-hitters including one three years ago for one of Atlanta's division rivals.
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James McCann is a solid temporary solution behind the plate for the Braves
McCann, a player many consider to be underrated, appeared in 65 games for the Baltimore Orioles last year as the backup to stud catcher Adley Rutschman. He tallied a .234/.279/.388 slash line and drove in 31 runs -- his most since 2021 with the Mets. The California native also recorded a 94 OPS+, which is tied for the third-highest in a single season of his career.
It is highly unlikely that we're going to see the version of him we saw back in 2019 when he accumulated a 3.6 WAR as a member of the White Sox. That just isn't who he is anymore. That's alright. Atlanta should not be asking for that.
McCann proved to be a valuable clubhouse presence for Baltimore while finishing top-20 in caught stealing percentage among MLB catchers across the last two campaigns, per Statcast. I can see him elevating the vibes in the Braves' clubhouse alongside newcomer Jurickson Profar.
When Travis d'Arnaud departed for the West Coast, the Braves were left relatively thin at catcher. Sure, Baldwin has a high ceiling and is performing quite well this spring (a team-leading .994 OPS), it seems like an unintelligent decision to not recruit someone to help ease a potential transition. McCann, while not the perfect fit, could be the individual who does just that.