Why the Atlanta Braves are setting up to trade a catcher

The Braves have 2 very capable young catchers

The MLB Trade Rumors site lists a total of 13 free agent catchers this Winter.  Three of those have already signed (Sandy Leon/Guardians; Pedro Severino/Brewers… who replaced Manny Pina/Braves) and one has retired (Buster Posey).

That leaves just nine… and less than half that list includes players who might have the ability to play even at a half-time level.

The Atlanta Braves themselves are in good shape for 2022.  They now have at least five catchers at the AAA level or higher… and many of these could have backed up d’Arnaud for 2022.

The Braves could have selected Chadwick Tromp — recently plucked from the Giants — to be their backup for Travis d’Arnaud.  His resume reads more like a “AAAA” player, and thus he might be called upon in case of emergency, but likely not as a regular-duty backup.

They could have chosen William Contreras.  In his case, the team sees him more like an everyday option, though both his bat and defensive abilities are not quite ready for prime time… hence why d’Arnaud was re-inked in September.

They could also have given the nod to Shea Langeliers, but he also profiles as an everyday backstop… and while he’s now at AAA, it was doubtful that the Braves would promote him full-time in 2022.

Langeliers burst out quite well at the AA level in 2021 on both sides of the ball.  He just needs perhaps one more year or two before emerging at the MLB level… so his timing is getting close, but not quite there.

So what that adds up to is that Manny Pina was signed as someone who could complement d’Arnaud well in 2022 and give the Braves time to assess their catching situation for 2023 (both d’Arnaud and Pina are under contract for that season) before committing to Langeliers at some point.

That leaves William Contreras as the probable “odd man out” — the blocked prospect who is now MLB-ready.

Before we get too far here, there is the possibility that Langeliers could be made available in a trade… both players are either 24 years old or are about to be… Contreras’ birthday happens the day before Christmas; Langeliers’ celebration came last week.  So age isn’t a factor… the leverage part is.

Langeliers is listed as the 10th best catching prospect in baseball right now… a curious list that includes 4 players at or below High-A ball, and Langeliers is certainly much more proven.

[ Contreras has “graduated” from the prospect rankings, though was tabbed as the 7th-best prospect of the Braves in 2020 between Kyle Muller and Tucker Davidson. ]

Any way you slice it, the Braves are among the only clubs in the sport blessed with two high-upside catching prospects… and the addition of Manny Pina all but signals to the market that they are ready and willing to deal one of them… most likely Contreras.

You might well ask this question, though: “why don’t the Braves just keep both of them to use together?”

Answer:  it just doesn’t work that way.  As a minimum, catching pair will always include at least one veteran to insure that the youngster is mentored well.  The catching position is the most involved on the entire field and that’s why all teams are reluctant to turn over the keys to their pitching staff to pre-arbitration catchers.

Besides that, both Contreras and Langeliers are seen as future options to catch every day… 100+ games per year.  Platooning them equally would run counter to that plan, thus only one is truly needed.

That leads us to the final question:  why trade and why consider doing that now?