Most Major League Baseball teams don't have a very good offensive catcher. The Atlanta Braves currently have two.
Rookie Drake Baldwin and veteran Sean Murphy had their fingerprints all over the Braves' series win against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. Murphy belted a crucial home run off Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, while Baldwin went 6-for-13 in the series with a homer and four RBI.
There's an obvious issue that comes with the Braves having two great-hitting catchers, though: both can't play at once. Because Marcell Ozuna is the full-time designated hitter, either Murphy or Baldwin begins each game on the bench for the Braves.
To some, this seems like an opportunity for Atlanta to trade one, likely the more expensive veteran in Murphy, in exchange for help elsewhere on the roster. But one Braves writer strongly disagrees with that notion.
In a recent article, Alex Lord of SportsTalkATL cautioned the Braves against trading either Murphy or Baldwin, stating that keeping both would give Atlanta their best possible lineup sometime further down the road.
"After a career-worst 2024 campaign, Murphy has bounced back in the exact fashion the Braves figured he would. His .848 OPS is 33% above league average, not just for catchers but for all hitters. More importantly, the Braves’ pitching staff has an absolutely unreal ERA with Murphy behind the dish," Lord wrote.
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"The Braves don’t have many holes, but shortstop is a glaring one. If the club could flip one of their star catchers for a long-term answer at the position, it would be worth mulling over. However, that’s not a deal that is clear and obvious right now."
Murphy is a 2023 National League All-Star and former Gold Glover who is on a $73 million extension through the 2028 season. Baldwin is a 24-year-old currently hitting .357 through his first 84 major league at-bats.
For now, the Braves seem to be content to leave things as they stand. But only time will tell whether holding onto both when their values were peaking turns out to be the wisest course of action.
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