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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Meltdowns, Fetching Catching

By Alan Carpenter

Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) is looked at by the team trainer Paul Lessard and relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit (52) and manager Dusty Baker (12) after suffering an apparent right knee injury during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Wilson Ramos, Nationals Catcher and Free-agent-to-be is out with an ACL Tear to his right knee.  Now What?

More from Tomahawk Take

I did a little research this morning on the expected recovery times for an ACL injury.  Surgery is definitely in the cards for Wilson Ramos, and this source suggests a full recovery time of 6-9 months.

For a professional athlete playing catcher, I would lean toward the maximum on that time range, plus another month for a full rehab and extended Spring Training activities.

If all of that begins on October 1st for Ramos, then that puts his availability at something close to the All-Star break next season.  Thus he loses half a year.

That raises some questions.

Should the Braves pursue him anyway?

Calls to consider Brian McCann have been renewed this morning as news of Ramos’ injury has spread.  Here’s one such call, in answer to a question about off-season needs for the Braves:

The trouble is, as this catching market just got weaker, the Yankees’ asking price for McCann just came back up quite a bit.  While they will have little place for him other than as a DH (he’s really not a first baseman, though I imagine that will be an off-season focus), Brian Cashman still seems to have illusions that he’s a more-than-positive trade asset.

This despite his contract ($17m for 2017 and 2018 with a vesting option for ’19), despite his hitting (.239) against a persistent defensive shift (balls in play: .387 vs. no shift; .254 otherwise), and despite the fact that his home run prowess plays best at Yankee Stadium (45 of 68 since moving north).

Next: The Turner Field Best

I could see Atlanta offering Ramos a 1-2 year deal for 2017-18 that’s essentially a “rehab and re-prove yourself” contract that’s low risk while using Flowers and Recker in the meantime… a tandem that has played better than McCann, frankly.  Something in the range of $8-10m per year – knowing that there’s a lost half-year built in.  It could be a win-win situation… which right now is certainly a better option than either the Braves or Ramos are looking at today.

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