Why the Atlanta Braves are setting up to trade a catcher

Atlanta Braves’ “core” is mostly set

Looking around the Braves’ roster, there aren’t many true weak spots at the field positions.  This was pretty much known already, but showing the capacity to win a World Series cements that point.

That makes some prospects expendable as they become blocked by major leaguers.  There is a positional exception, though, that the Braves thought they had covered.

If Cristian Pache had come on the scene perhaps 5 years ago, Atlanta would be in a position to allow him to work out his offensive issues during major league games.  Now?  They can’t really afford to have that kind of hole in their lineup.

So Atlanta is looking for a centerfielder.  Unfortunately, they are nearly as rare on the open market as catchers, with only Starling Marte being a ‘no-doubter’ at the position as a free agent… yet he’s at an age now when CF’s start becoming… let’s say “no longer a no-doubter”.

(never mind… Marte is now a Met)

The trick is that Atlanta needs to dangle a catcher to a team that has both a need for a catcher and an expendable center fielder (since Bigfoot sightings happen more often than 3-way MLB trades).

That kinda fits with Oakland… and kinda doesn’t.  Their #1 prospect is catcher Tyler Soderstrom, but he’s got a ways to go having played at the low-A level in 2021 and needing a lot of work on the defensive side.

At the major league level, the A’s do have Sean Murphy and they could be fine with him as their #1 guy, though there are rumors that they might be willing to deal Murphy for something else they might need… using their own leverage.

Baltimore is now said to be “listening” on Cedric Mullins, and he would be a great option for Atlanta except that Baltimore’s uber-catching-prospect Adley Rutschman is about to hit the majors… making it more difficult to make a deal with them.

Based on 2021 results, teams with a true catching need include Miami, Cleveland, the Mets, Texas, San Diego, Houston, the Angels, and Seattle… though it might be difficult to find a suitable (and available) center fielder from among these clubs.

Still:  conversations will continue if you are offering something of value and both William Contreras and Shea Langeliers would be of significant value to nearly any organization… but Contreras is almost certainly the one that Atlanta would prefer to put in a deal.

If the Braves can indeed make something happen… that itself would go a long way toward putting a team on the field capable of a repeat in 2022.

I don’t expect a lot of movement in the trade markets until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is put in place (so think “early February”), but if I was a minor league catcher in the Braves organization right now… I’d be renting from month-to-month.