The Atlanta Braves announced that Manny Piña will miss the remainder of the 2022 season with a wrist injury.
Big news in Atlanta Braves country as Manny Piña will need wrist surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2022 season. He is expected to be ready in time for 2023 Spring Training.
Snit says Manny Pina had an MRI and will need surgery on his wrist. He will miss the rest of the year and be ready for Spring Training. #Braves
— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) May 11, 2022
Piña recently signed a two-year deal with a third-year option this winter to join the Atlanta Braves. He was expected to serve as Travis d’Arnaud’s primary backup for the next few seasons.
In his career, Piña is a .243/.313/.409 hitter with a .311 wOBA and 90 wRC+. In 5 games this season, Manny Piña had 17 plate appearances, where he was hitting .143/.235/.143 1 R, 2 RBI, with a .189 wOBA and 17 wRC+.
However, most of Manny Piña’s value was expected to come from his defense. In his career, Piña has a 5.1 dWAR in a part-time role. Over a 162-game average, that is a 2 dWAR pace which is phenomenal.
Last year, he was 12th in all of baseball with 3 catcher framing runs. This again was in a part-time role, which signifies has impressive Manny Piña has been behind the plate in his career.
Unfortunately, we will now have to wait until 2023 to see Manny Piña in a Braves uniform again. This will open up an opportunity for William Contreras to stay with the big-league club in the meanwhile.
Contreras has played well in his limited role so far. In 5 games (19 plate appearances), Contreras is hitting .250/.368/.813 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB, with a .497 wOBA, and a 221 wRC+.
His bat has always been impressive, which is why the Braves were testing him in the outfield during Spring Training. His defense behind the plate has been what has slowed his development.
In 2021, he had a -2 catcher framing runs. So far in 2022, he is sitting at 0. It is a small sample, but if Contreras can serve as an average defense catcher behind d’Arnaud, his bat will potentially make up for it in value. He just cannot be a liability defensively.
It is always unfortunate to see a player like Manny Piña go down with injury. This does provide Contreras with an opportunity to prove himself.
Coming off an offseason where the Braves traded other top catching prospect, Shea Langeliers, it will be nice to see if Contreras can justify the decision to keep him long-term.