The position no one is really talking about for the Atlanta Braves right now that still needs to be addressed is the back-up catcher.
Right now it looks like the Atlanta Braves are comfortable going into the start of the season with either William Contreras or Alex Jackson as the back-up catcher for Travis d’Arnaud.
With the budget being tight and Alex Anthopoulos wanting to save money for an in-season move, they chose not to sign a back-up catcher this offseason and instead see if one of the young guys can fill the role.
So far neither one has impressed enough in Spring Training for me to feel comfortable having them backing up TDA.
I do love the potential of Contreras at the plate, but he still has some work to do defensively.
And it’s the opposite problem for Jackson — he’s grown tremendously as a defensive catcher but looks lost at the plate.
In Jackson’s small sample size at the big-league level he’s 2-for-29 with 9 strikeouts, and this Spring Training he’s 1-for-16 with 5 strikeouts.
Contreras has been better with 2 hits in 9 at-bats to go along with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts.
But neither has separated themselves at this point, and you know TDA isn’t going to catch 140 games this year. The Braves could use another experienced back-up catcher.
Where Can the Braves Find a Back-up Catcher at This Point
You’re about to have a lot of teams DFAing players who aren’t going to be on their Opening Day roster.
For instance, I also cover the Milwaukee Brewers and they already have two solid catchers in Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina.
That means Jacob Nottingham is the odd man out and he’s also out of Minor League options, which means the Brewers will have to DFA him.
I’m not saying Nottingham is someone the Braves should go after, just pointing out there could be several catchers in that same situation come available in the next week or so.
And then, or course, there are still some veteran catchers out there available in free agency. Although, to sign one of them at this point it would be questionable as to whether or not they could be ready for Opening Day.
The Braves are likely dead set on Jackson or Contreras being the back-up catcher, and I can live with that decision.
But it would be wise if they kept their eyes open for better available options as the Braves gear up for Opening Day in just two weeks.