One of the biggest storylines of the offseason surrounds the Braves’ catching position. When Alex Anthopoulos declined Travis d’Arnaud’s option, it became clear that Sean Murphy would assume a bigger role behind the dish in 2025, which left many Braves fans uneasy.
It’s fair too. Sean Murphy has been mostly bad since joining the club. The 2024 campaign got off to a rocky start. Murphy suffered an oblique injury on Opening Day and would go on to miss two months. When he returned, he never found a groove, finishing the season with a batting average below the Mendoza Line, 10 homers, and a career-low .636 OPS.
That trend didn’t just begin last season, though. That poor play began in the second half of 2023, hitting just .159 with a .585 OPS over his last 41 games. Fortunately for Braves fans, that’s not only who he has been since arriving in Atlanta. He burst onto the scene in the first half of the 2023 campaign.
Murphy’s first 3+ months of baseball in his new threads couldn’t have gone better. He recorded an OPS that sniffed 1.000 and was squarely in the National League MVP race going into the All-Star break.
“He was incredible in the first half of 2023, and like you said, both Travis d’Arnaud and him, second half of 2023, they didn’t swing the bat like they had earlier and in the past,” Alex Anthopoulos said about Murphy’s struggles and potential bounceback on 680 The Fan. “Then, comes out and has the oblique right out of the gate and ultimately can’t get back on track, so look we still have strong beliefs in him. We’re gonna find out here in 2025, but if you look at his career, he’s been a productive player for a long time. He’s still a young player, his skills have not changed at all.”
2025 presents a new opportunity for Sean Murphy. With Travis d’Arnaud 2,000+ miles away, he’s in line for a bulk of the starts at catcher, and he knows that. Murphy’s eager.
“I’ve talked to him, he’s in a great place. I’ve talked to him about the load behind the plate is gonna be something that we count on him. He caught 116 games in Oakland the year before we acquired him. With us choosing to decline on Travis, we have uncertainty in that two spot behind him,” Anthopoulos continued, saying that Murphy told him he could easily catch 120 games.
During his time in Oakland, Sean Murphy caught 116 and 104 games, then 98 in his first season in Atlanta. There’s a trend in which the more games he catches, the better he is. It takes a toll on the body, and it is impossible to start every single game like other position players, but Murphy would surely benefit from knowing he’s going to be playing damn near every game like the rest of the lineup.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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