Ever since Drake Baldwin emerged as a viable Rookie of the Year candidate and Sean Murphy returned from a broken rib, it has been clear that the Atlanta Braves have wanted to find a way to give both players consistent playing time. Baldwin appears to be the catcher of their future and Murphy is better than he is given credit for and is also owed a not small amount of money. However, the latest injury update from the Braves is going to alter those plans drastically.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Braves announced today that Murphy is going on the injured list with a tear in his right hip (that's bad). To replace him, Atlanta is bringing up veteran catcher Sandy Leon from the minors. The Braves also swapped out Hayden Harris for Dane Dunning in another bullpen shuffle, presumably so that Leon had company on the drive over.
The #Braves today also selected C Sandy León to the major league roster and placed C Sean Murphy on the 10-day injured list with a right hip labral tear, recalled RHP Dane Dunning to Atlanta, and optioned LHP Hayden Harris to Triple-A Gwinnett.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 8, 2025
Braves place Sean Murphy on injured list with ominous sounding hip injury
It doesn't take much in the way of medical expertise to see that the word "tear" when in relation with a human body part is bad. Labrial tears in the hip are obviously particularly problematic for catchers like Murphy who squat behind home plate for half the game. If surgery isn't required, it will just come down to how bad the tear is, although Murphy's 2025 season is almost certainly over now. If surgery is required, the recovery can take six to eight months depending on the amount of damage that is repaired.
Just like that, the Braves' best laid plans got thrown another wrinkle. Keeping Marcell Ozuna may become more likely if Murphy is going to miss any significant time next season which is possible. If not, Atlanta is going to have to come up with a different plan at DH in the short-term at least. Baldwin is now going to get the lion's share of starts at catcher the rest of this season, but it is unclear if the Braves want him shouldering that much of a workload beyond that.
In short, this is a real mess and we won't know more until we get more specifics on Murphy's injury. One hopes that it is a relatively minor issue and Murphy comes back strong next season, but nothing is guaranteed especially when it comes to Braves injuries.