Filling Atlanta Braves catching vacancy with a new face
By Fred Owens
As the Atlanta Braves look forward to 2021, they have three positions of need in the everyday lineup; one of the most important is catcher.
The Atlanta Braves have Travis d’Arnaud on board for another season, with Alex Jackson and William Contreras on the 40-man roster. Today’s teams recognize that a catcher isn’t going to play 150 games behind the dish; the wear and tear are just too great.
d’Arnaud has never started more than the 112 games he managed for the Mets in 2017, and it’s unlikely he’ll better that mark in 2021. Jackson and Contreras are options, but both lack significant Major League experience, and history suggests d’Arnaud will spend some time on the IL, which means the Braves will almost certainly sign another veteran catcher.
I’m relatively certain J.T. Realmuto isn’t under serious consideration; he’ll cost more than the Braves would offer for a long-term deal and want more years than a 30-year-old catcher coming off a hip injury should get, unless he can DH, which he can’t.
We know that JTR will want top billing wherever he signs. I suppose signing him, and trading TDA, is theoretically possible, but the chances of that are minuscule. Realmuto isn’t the only free agent catcher worthy of consideration; I’ve found a couple of teams with interesting trade potential, keeping in mind the depth that the Atlanta Braves have in the catching department.
The first skill a catcher must possess is guiding a rotation and catching what they throw, including blocking balls in the dirt. He should also have a strong arm and hit at league average for the position.
Free agents are the easiest to obtain, and there’s a long, if not exciting, list behind Realmuto. After looking at the free agents’ offense and defense over the last three seasons, I narrowed my list down to four names.
These four catchers offered the best combination of defense and consistent offense in 2018 and 2019 combined, and in 2019 alone. I ignored 2020 numbers because there were too many factors that skewed them in both directions. None should cost a lot of money, and all would fit the Braves’ needs.