Free Agent Catchers That Could Replace Travis d’Arnaud

In an unexpected move, the Braves decided against picking up their $8 million team option on Travis d’Arnaud, making him a free agent. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported soon after that the door on d’Arnaud returning is not slammed shut, but the Braves did want to have that money available to address their other needs first.

Catcher might not be at the top of Atlanta’s list of priorities this offseason with Sean Murphy still in the fold, but there’s no question that it is still a need. Drake Baldwin is an exciting prospect that could prove to be MLB ready for Opening Day, but would the Braves feel comfortable with Baldwin and Chadwick Tromp as the only options behind Sean Murphy? Things would get real dicey if Murphy were to go down for an extended period next season, and Brian Snitker was forced to rely solely on a player with zero MLB experience alongside a career third catcher.

Braves Free Agent Targets: Catchers

• Kyle Higashioka
• Travis d’Arnaud
• Danny Jansen
• Gary Sanchez
• Carson Kelly
• Yasmani Grandal
• Austin Hedges
• Elias Diaz
• Jacob Stallings
• James McCann
• Yan Gomes
• Tucker Barnhart

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The group of free agent catchers is rather gross, especially when considering the Braves clearly aren’t trying to spend money on a backup, even if they would like to add some insurance in case of an injury. Perhaps the Braves take a small gamble on one of these guys, but I think the main takeaway is Travis d’Arnaud is going to get scooped up by another team in free agency.

Other teams that don’t have a guy like Sean Murphy are going to place a much higher value on an experienced veteran like d’Arnaud. Given that the crop of free agent catchers available is grim, to say the least, any competitive team looking for a catcher this offseason will take a liking to d’Arnaud. He should surely garner at least a one-year, $8 million contract in free agency, and there might even be something more for him out there. Unless d’Arnaud is willing to take a hometown discount to stay with the organization, he’s likely going to play elsewhere next season.

If that’s the case, it looks very possible that Chadwick Tromp begins next season in Atlanta behind Sean Murphy, with Drake Baldwin waiting in the wings for his opportunity. Because this list of free agent catchers is far from inspiring.

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Photo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire