Murphy’s Mishap Opens Door For Blue-Chip Atlanta Braves Rookie

A bad break for one player may be a good break for another.

When veteran catcher Sean Murphy suffered a cracked rib during an exhibition game at-bat Friday, rookie receiver Drake Baldwin instantly became the favorite to replace him in the lineup of the Atlanta Braves.

Neither general manager Alex Anthopoulos nor manager Brian Snitker would commit to that course Tuesday but both sang the praises of the player, the top freshman in the Atlanta camp.

“We’ll find out in two or three weeks,” said Anthopoulos at CoolToday Park Tuesday before an exhibition game against the Minnesota Twins.

Strong Lefty Bat

“Drake is in the mix, he’s a left-handed bat, and we love him behind the plate. He’s competing for a spot and we’ll make that decision when we get to the end.”

Baldwin, wearing No. 75, is in the Atlanta camp as a non-roster player after strong seasons at Triple-A Gwinnett and for a prospect-heavy team in the Arizona Fall League.

“We’ve had him in the organization for awhile in the minors so he’s earned a very good reputation for game-calling and as a great teammate,” Anthopoulos said.

“But breaking in a young catcher is like breaking in a new glove. It’s beautiful, it’s a great glove, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time.

“Forget the offensive side. There’s just a lot going on, with all the nuances, all the information, relievers, starters.”

Baldwin brings a much-needed left-handed bat and a reputation as a contact hitter with surprising pop, a good game-caller, and handler of pitchers.

As Anthopoulos explained, “It’s hard to find a left-handed hitting catcher — really hard. We’ve been primarily right-handed over the years. So adding another left-handed bat balances the lineup.”

Catching Legacy

The Braves have had a long history of bringing strong young catchers to the big leagues. The list includes Joe Torre, Javy Lopez, and Brian McCann. In fact, Earl Williams won a Rookie of the Year award after producing 33 home runs and converting from first base to catcher in the same season. Lopez did even better with a 43-homer season, a record for a receiver when he did it in 2003.

“This organization has had great players up and down,” said Anthopoulos, architect of the Atlanta team that won the 2021 World Series. “They’ve been very successful for a reason, with great players gathered by Bobby Cox as general manager and then John Schuerholz as general manager. They’ve done a great job with scouting and development and hopefully guys like Drake Baldwin fall into that same group.”

The Braves cleared a spot for Baldwin by letting veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud leave as a free agent.

“It was tough to let him go,” the executive admitted. “He was arguably the captain of our team.

“But our roster is getting more expensive and we have to break in some young players too. He’s worth every penny he’s gotten, if not more, but we had to allocate resources to certain spots.”

The Angels gave d’Arnaud a two-year, $12 million deal, while Baldwin would likely earn the major-league minimum of $780,000. The Braves paid d’Arnaud, a former All-Star, $8 million in 2024 before his contract expired.

While the rival Mets and Phillies were spending heavily on free agents, Anthopoulos made only one major move, signing switch-hitting left-fielder Jurickson Profar, a 2024 All-Star.

“We like our depth and we like our nucleus,” said Anthopoulos. “Every year, every team in our division is getting better.

“The way the Marlins played last year showed they were very athletic. The Nationals’ rebuild is coming quickly – they beat us in the season’s series. And the Mets and Phillies were playoff teams.

“This division for me is the hardest division in the game. Two of the top four payrolls are in our division (Mets and Phillies), with the Yankees and Dodgers being the other two. They’re very well run with great front offices and going to be a challenge again.”

Injured Again

Like his boss, Snitker has no choice but to move ahead without Murphy on the field.
The backstop, who missed two months after pulling an oblique muscle on Opening Day last year, is virtually certain to open 2025 on the injured list.

“I hate it for Murf,” Snitker said of the rib injury. “He came here looking forward to getting the lion’s share of the catching. He’s going to be back sooner than later hopefully.

“In the meantime, he’s going to be very involved. Murf’s involved with meeting in the mornings and all kinds of things. He’s got experience with all our pitchers.

“There’s nothing you can do about [the injury]. There’s no point in beating yourself up. Now it’s just about doing all the right things.”

In addition to Baldwin, catchers in camp with the Braves include Chadwick Tromp, Curt Casali, and Sandy Leon – all of whom have experience as good-field, no-hit reserves in the majors.

“We’ve got good catching depth,” said Snitker, who began his baseball career as a minor-league catcher in the Braves system. “I feel good about it. It doesn’t do any good not to. I hate it for the player but we have four catchers without Murf and we’ll see where it takes us.

“It’s been a really good camp so far.”

With Baldwin behind the plate Tuesday, defending Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale worked four hitless innings against Minnesota in a game that ended in a scoreless tie.

Sale is expected to head a strong rotation that will get even better when former 20-game winner Spencer Strider returns from elbow surgery that kept him out for all of 2024 after he made only two starts. Reynaldo Lopez, like Sale a 2024 NL All-Star, and rising star Spencer Schwellenbach occupy two other spots, while erstwhile World Series star Ian Anderson, back from Tommy John surgery, is the front-runner for the final spot.

Also expected to return soon is 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuna, Jr., nearly healed from surgery to repair a torn ACL.

The Braves finished second in the division last year but went to the playoffs for the seventh straight season.