The Atlanta Braves have added some depth at the catcher position by adding Manny Piña on a 2-year deal
To some, this may seem like a head-scratcher that the Atlanta Braves would make this move. Manny Piña only played 75 games in 2021 and has never played more than 107.
Also, the Atlanta Braves have 2 of their top prospects waiting in the wings with Shea Langeliers and William Contreras.
First, it is important to note, that with the games played and the contract signed, Piña is obviously going to be the backup to Travis d’Arnaud. For what it’s worth, Piña’s contract is right on par to what Tyler Flowers was making in his last 2 years in Atlanta before he retired.
Langeliers and Contreras have the prospect ratings that they do because they project as starters, not backups. Because of this, it truly is not a 1 for 1 comparison to think that Piña was brought in because the Atlanta Braves do not have faith in either of their top prospects.
The only reason Contreras was brought up in 2021 was because the Braves were very thin at the position, and it forced their hand. It makes more sense to have players that are in development to play every day in the minors than to ride the pine at the MLB level.
With that being said, the Piña signing is not directly related to the Braves’ prospects, but it does increase their depth, as well as making a Langeliers or Contreras the center of a trade package not sting as bad.
What does Piña bring besides depth for the Atlanta Braves?
Depth is pretty obvious, but the main thing Piña brings is defense — and a lot of it.
Manny threw out 35% of runners in 2021. Even though stealing bases is becoming a lost art, it is important to note that the Atlanta Braves were 17th in MLB with a 24%, which was 4% below league average.
If you want to look at defensive run saved (DRS), Piña holds his own. In 2021 alone he owned a 7 DRS, which is good for 55th in all of MLB in only 75 games. As a refresher, 0 DRS is league average. It is also should be noted that the Atlanta Braves catching squad as a whole owned a negative 5 DRS on the year.
If we look at Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Above Average (Rtot) the Atlanta Braves were the worst in the National League with negative 4, again with 0 being average. Manny Piña had 5 Rtot all by himself.
Piña is also an excellent framer, which is an area that the Braves really struggled in after Tyler Flowers left. Again, in only 75 games played and 452.1 innings, he was tied for 13th in MLB in Runs Extra Strikes according to Statcast, which is the measurement of framing effectiveness.
As a reference to how important that is, Travis d’Arnaud saw 485 more pitches than Piña, yet you have to scroll all the way down to 26th in MLB to see d’Arnaud’s name. It should also be noted that this is an accumulative stat, so had Piña seen as many pitches as d’Arnaud, he was on pace to be even higher on the list.
d’Arnaud’s job is safe
But, historically speaking, it is a smart move to have a capable backup to give the main starter a rest. Piña is not going to turn any heads offensively with a well below average slash-line of .189/.293/.439 and 94 OPS+ (6% below league average), but that is not his role.
In recent years, the Atlanta Braves have had success rolling with a duo a starting catcher that is bat first, and a backup that is glove first. McCann/Flowers, d’Arnaud/Flowers, Suzuki/Flowers just to name a few. Odds are Alex Anthopoulos wants to get back to that strategy.
It does make sense that fans are getting anxious for Freddie Freeman, and a Manny Piña signing may be disappointing at first. However, after digging into the numbers, this was an excellent move. If the Braves had not picked him up now in this weak catcher free agent class, someone else was bound to pretty quickly.