Braves fans continue to be up in arms over Sean Murphy's recent playing time. While the team is struggling to pile wins, the usage of primary catcher Sean Murphy has left Atlanta fans perplexed.
When Alex Anthopoulos acquired Sean Murphy from Oakland, the catching position was not an immediate need with Travis d'Arnaud already in house. Most fans expected Murphy to come in and catch the majority of the games, however things haven't played out how we all expected.
Instead, d'Arnaud has started three of the four games in New York while Murphy has rode the bench. A lot of things have happened, but how exactly did we get here? We give our best explanation as to why Sean Murphy isn't seeing the amount of game action we all expected.
Could Sean Murphy still be hurt?
2024 has been a tough year for many Braves players, and Sean Murphy is no exception. It began extremely rough with an Opening Day oblique injury that sidelined him for a couple months. Murphy returned in late May, but the Braves were cautious not to overwork him after such a lengthy lay off.
However, Murphy seemed to be on his way when he collected his first multi-hit game of 2024 with a four-hit, two home run performance on June 19th against the Tigers. His performance and the comments postgame put to rest any idea of a lingering oblique injury. But then it was right back to the inconsistent play time for Murphy.
NOT A REPLAY
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 19, 2024
ANOTHER 2-run mash from Murphy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DNHtmVNtaj
Could Sean Murphy be in a platoon?
Murphy still has just 135 plate appearances on the season. Shockingly, he's just had 37 PAs against left-handed pitching this year. And his numbers aren't the most inspiring, as he currently sports a .152/.243/.303 slash line against LHP's in 2024. Compare that to his 98 PAs and his .230/.316/.379 against RHP, it's been a weird year for Murphy.
Then you look at Travis d'Arnaud's splits and he's seen just 47 plate appearances against LHP this season. However, his numbers are much better with a .279/.319/605 slash line against LHP's. So, it's not necessarily a platoon because the Braves simply haven't seen many southpaws this year. On we go looking for answers...
Snitker is riding the hot hand
The answer we came to is a simple one, and really not our favorite. However, it's the answer we were given from manager Brian Snitker himself. During the Braves current slump offense has been really hard to come by. Admittedly, d'Arnaud has been swinging the hotter bat of the two catchers, and that has been enough to earn him the playing time according to Snitker.
FYI, I asked Snit on Friday about d'Arnaud catching that night: “He’s been swinging the bat pretty good, and that’s what we’re looking for right now. Runs are hard to come by. Just got to be careful not to wear him out. But you know what, if you’re gonna hit, you’re gonna play.”
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) July 28, 2024
However, how can Murphy get hot if his playing time is so inconsistent? Murphy stepped up for the team and had an amazing game-tying homer against the Diamondbacks on July 8. He's started in just seven games since in the three weeks that followed.
We know his results haven't been the best, but you have to dig deeper to find Murphy's value. Despite his limited playing time and a subpar 84 wRC+, Murphy still has a higher fWAR (0.6) than Matt Olson. Then you look at his batted ball data and realize how unlucky Murphy has been.
For example, Murphy has a difference of nearly .200 points in his expected slugging percentage (.526 xSLG) compared to his actual slugging (.351 SLG) against fastballs this season. Then you factor in the impressive defense, 90th percentile in blocks above average and 72nd percentile in framing, and you begin to see why Murphy should be given more opportunities.
Unfortunately, things have been so hard for the Braves recently we're not in much of a position to argue. Hopefully, when Murphy gets back into the lineup he can see a few more good bounces and earn Snitker's confidence once again.