While it certainly wasn't the biggest source of controversy regarding the Atlanta Braves' offseason, the decision to decline catcher Travis d'Arnaud's $8 million option for 2025 stuck out at the time as a bit of a risk. Sure, $8 million is hardly nothing — especially for a team intent on keeping its payroll in line — and the team had top prospect Drake Baldwin waiting in the wings. But d'Arnaud had established himself as both a starting-caliber catcher and a leader in the clubhouse over his five seasons in Atlanta, and letting him walk in free agency put a whole lot of pressure on Sean Murphy to rebound from an awful 2024 campaign.
Murphy was one of the worst catchers in the sport last season, hitting a dismal .193/.284/.352 as oblique and elbow ailments limited him to just 72 games. Combined with his miserable end to 2023, it created a ton of uncertainty surrounding him entering 2025. Baldwin is a very promising young player, but asking him to step into a significant role as a rookie is asking a lot, and losing d'Arnaud without finding a proven replacement removed Atlanta's safety net — a safety net the team would sure love to have right now after Murphy has gone done with another injury.
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Sean Murphy injury raises questions about Braves' decision to let Travis d'Arnaud walk in free agency
According to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, Murphy has suffered a cracked left rib in Braves camp, an injury that's expected to hold him out for 4-6 weeks. That will keep him off the Opening Day roster at the very least, potentially longer if the discomfort lingers or he needs more time to get ramped back up after missing most of spring training.
And now it's unclear just where the team goes from here at one of the most important positions on the field. Chadwick Tromp was penciled in as Murphy's backup to start the season, but his complete lack of offense makes him hard to trust for extended periods. Baldwin took a big step forward last season, but the jump from the Minors to the Majors is a notoriously difficult one behind the plate, and we have no idea how much runway he may need to adjust.
Unless the Braves are very confident in Murphy's ability to miss minimal time, it sure seems like the team will need to go after some sort of veteran stopgap ... one who almost certainly won't fill in as capably as d'Arnaud would have. Letting d'Arnaud go in order to replace him for cheaper down the road was a defensible if controversial decision at the time, but Atlanta neglecting the position entirely could come back to bite them.