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Braves To Return Rule 5 Pick Anderson Pilar To Marlins

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The Braves are returning Rule 5 pick Anderson Pilar to the Marlins, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Neither club has made an official announcement related to Pilar. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count will drop from 39 to 38. Rule 5 picks have to be put on waivers before being returned to their original club. It’s unclear if that has already taken place with Pilar. Assuming he winds up back with Miami, he won’t need to take up a 40-man spot with that organization.

Pilar, 27, has spent most of his career in the Rockies organization but signed with the Marlins prior to 2024. He then had a good year across three levels, tossing 58 innings with a 2.64 earned run average. He struck out 30.6% of batters faced while issuing walks just 5.6% of the time and getting grounders at a 46.9% clip.

That prompted Atlanta to grab him in the Rule 5, which allowed them to bring him into camp and get a close-up look at him. Unfortunately, Pilar wasn’t able to make the most of the opportunity. In six spring outings, he punched out 12 opponents but also issued six walks and ten hits, leading to nine earned runs.

Players selected in the Rule 5 draft cannot be optioned to the minor leagues. Given that spring performance, a contending club like Atlanta can’t really afford to have him figure it out in meaningful games, so they’ll let him go. As mentioned, Rule 5 players need to be put on waivers if the selecting club is relinquishing them. Any claiming club would need to operate under the same parameters, not sending Pilar to the minors. If he clears waivers, he will no longer have Rule 5 status and then he’ll be offered back to the Marlins, who can keep him as non-roster depth.

Atlanta started camp with two Rule 5 picks, the other being infielder Christian Cairo. Taken from Cleveland, Cairo is hitting .179/.294/.250 in camp, which doesn’t bode well for his chances of sticking with Atlanta.

Turning back to the Atlanta bullpen, the club has tried to bolster the group on the cheap. They have kept their payroll just south of the competitive balance tax while signing various veterans to minor league deals, including Craig Kimbrel, Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, Buck Farmer, Chasen Shreve and many more. That’s a situation that could potentially lead to some tough roster choices, but the club has seemingly been making those in recent days. They traded Angel Perdomo to the Angels recently, opening up one spot. Returning Pilar opens a second. Cairo would open a third. They also released Jake Diekman, subtracting one guy from the NRI pile.

Braves Release Jake Diekman

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The Braves have released veteran left-handed reliever Jake Diekman, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring but was reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday. He’s the second non-roster veteran cut loose by Atlanta recently, joining catcher Curt Casali, who was released on Monday.

Diekman, 38, appeared in seven Grapefruit League games and tossed 7 1/3 innings with Atlanta. He was tagged for four runs on six hits and four walks with eight punchouts and a 45% ground-ball rate. The resulting 4.91 ERA isn’t eye-catching, but it’s a small sample and Diekman has a lengthy if inconsistent track record at the MLB level.

Diekman spent the 2024 season with the division-rival Mets, for whom he pitched 32 innings with a 5.63 ERA before being released in August. As is typical, the left-hander both missed bats and issued free passes at high levels: 27.6% strikeout rate, 16.6% walk rate.

Command — or lack thereof — has always been an issue for Diekman. He’s walked fewer than 10% of his opponents just once in 13 big league seasons, and it came way back with the 2013 Phillies. He’s walked 13.4% of his opponents in 602 1/3 career innings. However, Diekman has often been able to mitigate the damage from those walks thanks to both a hefty strikeout rate (career 28.7%) and plenty of grounders (career 46.9%), helping him induce a fair number of double plays.

As recently as 2023, Diekman notched a 3.34 ERA in 56 2/3 big league innings between the White Sox (for whom he struggled) and the Rays (with whom he thrived). His results tend to fluctuate on a year-to-year basis, but Diekman sports a 3.91 ERA in his career and a 3.94 mark over the past five big league seasons. A club seeking a veteran lefty in the ’pen could take a look at him as a low-cost option.

For the Braves, Diekman’s release and this week’s trade of Angel Perdomo likely cement that Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer will be the only two southpaws in Brian Snitker’s bullpen. That pair will join closer Raisel Iglesias and right-handed setup man Pierce Johnson in the mix for late-inning work.

Braves To Sign Craig Kimbrel To Minor League Deal

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The Braves and right-hander Craig Kimbrel have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The SportsMeter client will earn a $2MM salary if brought up to the big leagues, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. He’ll spend some time building up before reporting to Triple-A Gwinnett, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Kimbrel, 37 in May, has been on a rollercoaster in recent years. He had a long run as one of the most effective closers in the league, starting that tenure with Atlanta. From 2010 to 2014, he tossed 289 innings for them, allowing only 1.43 earned runs per nine. His 9.6% walk rate was a bit high but he had a massive 42.2% strikeout rate in that time. He quickly became the club’s closer and earned 185 saves in a four-year stretch from 2011 to 2014. He would continue to produce similar results for a few years, going to the Padres and Red Sox.

But as alluded to, things have been far rockier lately. A free agent after 2018, Boston gave him a $17.9MM qualifying offer. Kimbrel rejected that offer, meaning that any signing club would have to forfeit at least one draft pick. That seemed to have a significant impact on his market, as he remained unsigned until after the summer draft, which was held in June at that time. No longer tied to draft pick forfeiture, he signed a three-year, $43MM with the Cubs in early June of 2019.

Perhaps it was due to missing the first half of the season, but Kimbrel’s results were awful once he became a Cub. He eventually made 23 appearances for them that year, posting an ugly 6.53 ERA. That carried over into the shortened 2020 season, as he had a 5.28 ERA that year. Over those two seasons, he still struck out 35.2% of opponents but his 14.5% walk rate was far higher than average.

In 2021, he seemed to rebound in a big way. He made 39 appearances for the Cubs that year with a tiny 0.49 ERA. His 9.5% walk rate was still above average but a massive improvement over the previous two years. He also punched out 46.7% of batters faced. He was shipped across Chicago at that year’s deadline, with the White Sox sending Nick Madrigal and Codi Heuer to the Cubs. Unfortunately, his results immediately backed up, as he posted a 5.09 ERA over the remainder of the season.

Despite that rough finish, the Sox picked up his $16MM club option, though they traded him to the Dodgers for AJ Pollock just prior to Opening Day 2022. Heading to Los Angeles seemed to work out for a while, though he again had a rough finish. He had a 33.8% strikeout rate in the first half but punched out just 20.7% of opponents in the second half. He lost the closer’s job in September and then was left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster.

Going into 2023, the Phils gave him a one-year, $10MM deal, which led to a good bounceback season. Kimbrel posted a 3.26 ERA over 71 appearances that year, with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. But a one-year, $13MM deal with the Orioles last year led to another downturn. He had a 5.33 ERA for Baltimore, striking out 31.5% of batters but also giving out walks 13.4% of the time. He was designated for assignment and released in September.

The overall track record is obviously impressive. Kimbrel has a career ERA of 2.59 and is fifth on the all-time saves list. He’s just seven behind Kenley Jansen, who will close for the Angels this year, and 38 away from third-place Lee Smith. But he’s been incredibly shaky in recent years, so it’s anyone’s guess what he can provide this year.

There’s little harm on a minor league deal. Atlanta can get a close-up look at him over the next few weeks and see how it goes. If he doesn’t look like he can engineer another bounceback, they can simply move on. Some veterans have guaranteed opt-outs in their minor league deals, but that wouldn’t apply to Kimbrel since he was released before the end of the 2024 season. It’s possible he negotiated some opt-outs into his deal, though no details of that nature have been reported yet.

Atlanta’s bullpen took a hit when it was reported that Joe Jiménez will likely miss the entire season due to knee surgery. They should have Raisel Iglesias, Dylan Lee, Pierce Johnson and Aaron Bummer locked into four spots. One of Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes could have a long relief role. That leaves three spots available early on. Daysbel Hernández is on the roster and could secure one.

The club also has a big collection of notable guys on minor league deals, including Héctor Neris, Enyel De Los Santos, Jake Diekman, Chasen Shreve, Buck Farmer and others. That is perhaps a reflection of the club hoping to avoid the competitive balance tax this year. Per RosterResource, they project to have a $230MM CBT number, about $11MM shy of the $241 base threshold. They have opted to sign many minor league deals and hope that a handful of them turn out to be hidden gems.

Kimbrel will jump into that cluster of non-roster veterans trying to earn major league jobs. He has the most impressive track record of anyone in that group but is a few weeks behind them and will have to overcome the memories of a poor 2024 season.

Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan and Kareem Elgazzar, Imagn Images.

Braves, James McCann Agree To Minor League Deal

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March 18: McCann’s deal would pay him a $1MM base in the majors, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney.

March 17: The Braves are in agreement with veteran catcher James McCann on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Atlanta released Curt Casali from his minor league deal and reassigned Sandy León to minor league camp this afternoon. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.

McCann, 34, provides veteran insurance with Sean Murphy ticketed for the injured list to begin the season. Murphy and expected backup Chadwick Tromp are the only catchers on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. They’ll need to add someone else by the start of the regular season. Removing Casali and León from the mix made it seem inevitable that top prospect Drake Baldwin would get the Opening Day assignment. That still seems highly likely. McCann hasn’t had any game reps and Spring Training ends in one week. Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that the plan is for the veteran to begin the season at Triple-A Gwinnett.

The righty-swinging McCann has spent the last two seasons backing up Adley Rutschman in Baltimore. He hit .228/.274/.382 in a combined 134 games. He has a bit of power but isn’t going to provide much from an on-base perspective. McCann is highly respected for his leadership and work with pitching staffs. He ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of arm strength and throwing out attempted basestealers. He has never graded well by public pitch framing metrics, while Statcast has graded him a little below average at blocking balls in the dirt.

Baldwin has had a big Spring Training. He’s hitting .333 with six walks and two strikeouts in 13 exhibition games. The former third-round pick combined for a .270/.384/.460 batting line between the top two minor league levels last season. He clearly has more offensive upside than McCann or Tromp bring to the table. That said, plenty of top prospects struggle in their first look at major league pitching. If Baldwin’s career gets out to a tough start, McCann could step in as the starter until Murphy returns from a broken rib. McCann has far more experience as a primary catcher than Tromp does.

Angels Acquire Angel Perdomo, Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment

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The Angels announced they’ve acquired lefty reliever Angel Perdomo from the Braves for cash or a player to be named later. The Halos designated infielder Scott Kingery for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. Perdomo had not previously been DFA, so this drops Atlanta’s roster count to 39.

Perdomo spent more than a year with Atlanta but never threw a regular season pitch for them. The 6’8″ southpaw was a member of the Pirates when he underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2023 season. Pittsburgh waived him at the end of that year. Atlanta claimed him, non-tendered him, then brought him back on a fresh major league deal. They kept him on the 60-day injured list for all of last season to see whether he warranted a spot in their bullpen once he returned to health.

The 30-year-old Perdomo has gotten back on the mound this spring. He has made seven appearances, working 7 1/3 frames of two-run ball. Perdomo has issued four walks while recording six strikeouts. The Braves evidently didn’t see enough in that small sample to carry him as a third left-hander behind Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee. Perdomo is out of minor league options, so the Braves couldn’t send him to Triple-A without running him through waivers.

That the Angels jumped the line via trade suggests Perdomo would not have cleared waivers. The Halos will also need to carry him in the MLB bullpen or make him available to other teams. They’ll very likely move on from one or two left-handers by Opening Day. The Angels now have five lefty relievers whom they can’t send to the minors.

Brock Burke, José Quijada, José Suarez and Perdomo are all out of options. Rule 5 pick Garrett McDaniels needs to stick on the roster or be waived and offered back to the Dodgers. Burke will make the team and McDaniels is pitching fairly well this spring. Suárez and Quijada seemed like bubble candidates to stick on the roster all offseason. Neither has pitched well this spring. Quijada has been blitzed for nine runs in 3 2/3 innings. Suárez has surrendered a trio of homers across 7 2/3 frames.

Perdomo has pitched in parts of three big league seasons. His best work came with Pittsburgh two years ago. He turned in a 3.72 ERA while striking out almost 38% of opposing hitters in 29 innings. His fastball averaged 94 MPH before the Tommy John procedure. Perdomo is playing on a pre-arbitration salary and is under club control for four seasons. He’d be an affordable bullpen piece if he sticks on the roster.

Kingery, a one-time top prospect with the Phillies, has played one major league game in the last three years. Philadelphia had kept him in Triple-A after outrighting him off their 40-man roster. They traded him to the Angels at the start of the offseason. The Halos added him to the roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. Kingery was coming off a .268/.316/.488 showing in Triple-A that led the Angels to get a look at him in camp.

The 30-year-old needed a strong showing in Spring Training to secure a spot on Ron Washington’s bench. He’s hitting .138 with 11 strikeouts in 36 plate appearances this spring. That pushed him off the roster and is likely to land him on waivers in the next few days. If he goes unclaimed, Kingery would have the right to elect free agency because he has more than three years of service time. Doing that would mean forfeiting his $770K arbitration salary, so there’s a decent chance he’d accept an outright assignment and head back to Triple-A.

Braves Release Curt Casali, Reassign Sandy León To Minor League Camp

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The Braves announced yesterday that catcher Curt Casali was reassigned to minor league camp. They announced the same with Sandy León today. Casali has been released, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

It now seems highly likely that prospect Drake Baldwin will break camp with the club. Atlanta hasn’t made any firm announcements but Sean Murphy is going to start the season on the injured list due to a cracked rib. That leaves Chadwick Tromp as the only healthy catcher on the 40-man roster, meaning Atlanta needs to add someone. Casali and Leon were in camp as NRIs but that is no longer the case. Unless Atlanta brings in a catcher from outside the organization, then it seems like Baldwin will get an Opening Day job.

Baldwin, 24 this month, is one of the top catching prospects in the game. A third-round pick in the 2022 draft, he split last year between Double-A and Triple-A. He got into 124 games in total, including 72 at the top minor league level. Combined, he had a 13.1% walk rate and 17.2% strikeout rate on the year. He hit 16 home runs and slashed .276/.370/.423 for a 119 wRC+.

Coming into 2025, Baldwin is a consensus top 100 prospect. Baseball America currently has him in the #53 spot, noting that he profiles as a competent defender who is getting strong reviews for his work with pitchers.

Atlanta turned down a club option on Travis d’Arnaud at the start of the offseason, leaving Murphy and Tromp as the two catchers on the roster. Murphy’s injury opened a path for Baldwin to earn a job to start the season. He has certainly done everything he can to take advantage of that opportunity. He enters today with a spring batting line of .370/.485/.444.

That will seemingly be enough to get him a crack at the big leagues, at least to start the season. When Murphy suffered his cracked rib in early March, it was announced that he would be out of action for four to six weeks. He could therefore be back on the field in April but will likely need a bit of a rehab assignment to effectively redo his spring training.

While he does that, the team will see how Baldwin does against major league pitching. If he does well, perhaps he and Murphy could share the catching duties going forward, though Tromp is out of options. That means he would need to be removed from the 40-man roster, unless the club wants to carry three catchers when Murphy is healthy. But even the best prospects sometimes struggle when first promoted to the majors. If that happens with Baldwin, he can be optioned back to Triple-A while Murphy and Tromp handle things. For now, Baldwin will need a 40-man roster spot, though that could be easily accomplished by putting Joe Jiménez on the 60-day injured list.

Casali, 36, was in camp on a minor league deal. He’s been in the big leagues for over a decade now, generally providing solid defense with flashes of offense, though he hasn’t hit much in the past two years. He had a career batting line of .223/.316/.392 and 92 wRC+ at the end of the 2022 season, but he has slashed .186/.292/.229 over the past two campaigns for a 52 wRC+. His struggles have continued into this spring. He has 15 plate appearances in camp with Atlanta with no hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. The only time he reached base was on a hit-by-pitch.

That’s a small sample but obviously not a good showing, especially when compared to what Baldwin has been up to. Casali is an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning that he has at least six years of service time and finished last season on a major league roster or injured list. That means he has guaranteed opt-out dates on his minor league deal: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

Since he wasn’t going to break camp with Atlanta, he was likely going to opt out and look for other opportunities. The club has seemingly let him go a bit early, allowing him to get a headstart on finding his next gig.

Despite his rough spring, he should get interest based on his track record. There are several clubs around the league with injury concerns. The Mets are going to be without Francisco Alvarez for a while. The Reds will start the season with Tyler Stephenson on the IL and Jose Trevino is banged up as well. The Giants have Patrick Bailey behind the plate but Tom Murphy will start the year on the IL and won’t be able to back him up. Casali could perhaps find a fresh minor league deal with one of those clubs or circle back to Atlanta after making a few calls.

Latest On Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr.

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Spencer Strider will start for the Braves in Monday’s Spring Training game with the Red Sox, in a significant step in Strider’s recovery from an internal brace procedure.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (multiple links) figures Strider will pitch in at least five games over the rest of spring camp and during a minor league rehab assignment before officially returning to Atlanta’s rotation during the regular season, which could signal a return date around roughly the middle of April if all goes well.

This would seemingly beat the timeline floated by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand just a few days ago, when Feinsand suggested that Strider would “likely” start a 30-day minor league rehab assignment.  Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said have their own “general idea” about when both Strider and Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back from their long-term injuries, yet the team hasn’t given any set timelines.

“The fact that they’re very active participants basically throughout the spring is a good sign.  Without having a date right now, we’re definitely on the shorter end, Strider more so than Ronald,” Anthopoulos said.

Should this rough timeline hold, it will mark just slightly over a year on the shelf for Strider, who underwent an internal brace surgery last April 12.  While Tommy John surgeries usually require 13-15 months of recovery, internal brace procedures have a slightly shorter timeline of roughly 12-13 months attached.  Because brace surgeries are still a relatively new way of addressing UCL injuries, there isn’t yet a standard timeframe for recovery, plus the obvious fact that every pitcher’s arm is a unique entity that recovers at its own pace.

Still, it’s great news for Strider and the Braves that he is on pace to return to the mound sooner rather than later.  After making his MLB debut late in the 2021 season, Strider emerged almost fully formed as a front-of-the-rotation pitcher in 2022, and delivered two years of work before he was waylaid by his UCL injury.  Strider posted a 2.67 ERA over 131 2/3 innings in 2022, then a 3.86 ERA in 186 2/3 frames in 2023.  The latter season saw the right-hander lead the NL in strikeouts (281), strikeout rate (36.8%) and wins (20), while finishing in fourth place in Cy Young Award voting.

As Anthopoulos observed, Acuna has been able to take part in baseball activities during camp, though he isn’t expected to play in any actual games before the Grapefruit League schedule is over.  Acuna should return to game action as part of a minor league rehab assignment in April, with an eye towards being activated from the injured list by the middle of May at the earliest.  Acuna will start the season on the IL, but it looks as if he’ll be placed on the 10-day rather than the 60-day, which would require him to be sidelined until the last week of May.

That would make it just under a year away for Acuna, who tore his left ACL last May 26.  Acuna also tore his left ACL in mid-July 2021 and returned to action by the end of April 2022, so it isn’t surprising that this second major knee injury necessitated a longer recovery time.  Acuna also battled some knee soreness throughout the 2022 campaign, which was reflected in a down performance (.266/.351/.413 with 15 homers over 533 plate appearances) by his high standards.

At his best, Acuna is arguably the best player in baseball, as evidenced by his incredible MVP season in 2023.  Coming back from one ACL tear to deliver such production is a positive sign that Acuna can return from this latest injury as well, though it is reasonable that Acuna will (like in 2022) take some time to fully return to form.  It is also fair to speculate whether or not Acuna can get back to that 2023 peak again, simply due to the difficulty of rebounding from ACL tears in both knees.

Poll: Will The Braves Add A Catcher?

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At the outset of the offseason, the Braves made a surprising move to decline their club option on veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud despite prior indications being that they’d planned to exercise the option. Things turned out just fine for d’Arnaud, who signed a two-year deal with the Angels shortly thereafter, but the decision came back to bite Atlanta when starting catcher Sean Murphy suffered a cracked rib that will keep him out of action through at least the middle of April.

When Murphy missed time due to an oblique issue last year, d’Arnaud was there to step in as a capable regular option. This year, they’ll have no such ready-made answer locked and loaded on the roster. That’s not to say the club has no internal options; youngster Drake Baldwin is a well-regarded prospect who already seemed likely to make his MLB debut at some point this year, and Chadwick Tromp was already in line to make the roster as the club’s backup catcher. Baldwin has raked this spring to the tune of a .368/.520/.474 slash line, and perhaps that’s enough to convince Atlanta brass to give him the reins for the start of the season while Murphy recovers.

However, it’s hardly a reliable solution to the issue. Baldwin has yet to take a major league at-bat, and he struggled offensively at the Double-A level just last year before turning his season around upon his promotion to Triple-A. And if Baldwin proves unprepared to handle the big leagues, Tromp isn’t a viable starting option. The soon to be 30-year-old backstop has just 59 games and 156 plate appearances under his belt over parts of five seasons in the majors. In that time, he’s hit just .232/.237/.397 with a wRC+ of 66. While it’s not impossible to imagine more regular playing time in the majors allowing Tromp to perform better, 47 catchers produced more offense that Tromp’s career numbers across at least 100 plate appearances in the majors last year.

The Braves do have a pair of non-roster invitees in camp who could step in, but neither inspires confidence. Sandy Leon didn’t play in the majors at all last year, last had even 100 plate appearances in a season back in 2021, and is a career .208/.276/.311 hitter. Fellow NRI Curt Casali has a somewhat stronger track record, having played at least 40 games in the majors every year since 2018 (excluding the 60-game 2020 season where he appeared in 31 games for the Reds), but hit just .194/.293/.250 for the Giants in 125 trips to the plate last year.

Given all of the uncertainty facing Atlanta, an external addition can’t be ruled out. It’s been reported that the club made an offer to Yasmani Grandal even prior to Murphy’s injury. While Grandal turned that deal down, it signals the club already had reservations about its catching depth and it’s at least possible that the sides could circle back to each other with Opening Day fast approaching and additional playing time having opened up for Grandal.

Other options on the free agent market are few and far between. James McCann and Yan Gomes remain unsigned, but other options could emerge in the coming days as veterans on minor league deals with other teams begin to get the opportunity to opt out and return to free agency.

Jorge Alfaro, Omar Narvaez, and Tucker Barnhart are among the veterans in camp with other clubs who could return to free agency if they don’t make their current club’s Opening Day roster. It’s also at least possible that a club with an excess of catching options on the 40-man roster like the Twins could either make one of their backstops available on waivers or via trade, though trades of particular note are quite rare at this stage of the calendar. While none of the options likely to be available are game changers, they could offer a higher floor than any of Atlanta’s current options and allow the club to avoid rushing Baldwin to the majors.

How do you think the Braves will approach the situation? Will they take Murphy’s injury as an opportunity to give Baldwin regular playing time and stand pat with their internal options, or will they instead look to upgrade over a potential tandem of Baldwin and Tromp by bringing in a more reliable veteran to help handle the pitching staff? Have your say in the poll below:

Will Atlanta bring in a catcher while Murphy is injured?
No, they'll stick with who they have in-house. 64.46% (2,497 votes)
Yes, they'll add someone else to the mix. 35.54% (1,377 votes)
Total Votes: 3,874

Yasmani Grandal Reportedly Turned Down Offer From Braves “About A Month Ago”

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According to reporter Francys Romero, the Braves made an offer to free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal “about a month ago.” Needless to say, Grandal, who remains unsigned, turned down the proposed deal. The terms of Atlanta’s offer were not included in Romero’s report.

Grandal, 36, is the top catcher remaining on the free agent market. Depending on how teams view James McCann and Yan Gomes, Grandal is arguably the only unsigned catcher capable of filling more than a backup role. During his best years, he was widely considered one of the top catchers in the sport. His performance dropped off significantly in 2022 and ’23, but he rebounded with the Pirates in 2024. His offensive numbers were slightly above average for a catcher in nearly every category, while his top-notch pitch framing numbers made him a valuable defender behind the dish. He finished the season with 1.4 FanGraphs WAR in 72 games played.

Up until recently, one might have thought the Braves were set at catcher. Sean Murphy is entering the third year of his six-year, $73MM contract extension, and the Braves surely want him to play as much as possible. While he had a down year in 2024, he is only one year removed from an All-Star season in 2023. In addition, the consensus top prospect in Atlanta’s system is catcher Drake Baldwin. Soon to be 24, Baldwin excelled at Triple-A last year and has continued to excel this spring. He looks ready to make his MLB debut. It’s hard to imagine how Grandal would have fit into the mix.

However, things changed last week when the Braves announced that Murphy would miss four to six weeks with a cracked rib cage. That makes Baldwin the likely Opening Day starter. All of a sudden, the youngster is facing far more pressure to succeed right away. Thus, if the Braves had any interest in Grandal last month, one would think that interest would only be greater now that Murphy is set to miss extended time. Indeed, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported a few days ago that the Braves were “considering” Grandal and McCann.

From Grandal’s perspective, signing with the Braves might now seem more appealing than it did last month. He would have a clear path to regular playing time (or at least a split role with Baldwin) while Murphy is on the shelf. That might only be for a couple of weeks, but even so, it would give Grandal a chance to prove he still deserves a major league opportunity, whether in Atlanta or somewhere else. The Braves are the only team known to have expressed interest in Grandal this winter, but perhaps another club could look to acquire him if he gets a big league gig and plays well.

Romero notes that Grandal is hoping to continue his playing career, though he could consider retirement if the right deal doesn’t come together. The 36-year-old has enjoyed a highly successful 13-year tenure in Major League Baseball with the Padres, Dodgers, Brewers, White Sox, and Pirates. At his peak, he was a well-above-average offensive catcher, putting up an .807 OPS and a 121 wRC+ over his first 10 seasons. However, his most valuable tool has always been his glove. In particular, Grandal is widely considered one of the most talented pitch framers of his generation. According to FanGraphs, he has racked up 152.0 framing runs throughout his career, easily the most among active catchers. Austin Hedges ranks second with 89.3. If Grandal chooses to hang up his catching gear, he will certainly have a strong career to look back on.

Jurickson Profar Suffers Bone Bruise In Left Wrist

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TODAY: Profar’s CT scan revealed a bone bruise on his left wrist, Bowman reports.  While a painful injury, the team expects Profar should be ready for Opening Day.

MARCH 8: Braves left fielder Jurickson Profar suffered what the club described as a jammed left wrist during today’s Grapefruit League game with the Pirates.  Profar suffered the injury while trying to make a diving catch of a line drive in the fourth inning, and the outfielder was in obvious discomfort in the aftermath of the play.

X-rays were negative on Profar’s wrist, and Braves team trainer George Poulis told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) that there is hope that Profar has avoided any more serious injury.  The final diagnosis won’t be known for certain, however, until Profar undergoes an MRI to check for structural damage.

Profar was the Braves’ biggest offseason acquisition, as his huge 2024 season with the Padres resulted in a three-year, $42MM free agent deal from Atlanta.  Profar has been rather notoriously inconsistent during his MLB career, but he delivered his best numbers at age 31 and in his 11th season in the Show.  Signed to just a $1MM guaranteed last winter, Profar exploded for 24 home runs and a .280/.380/.459 slash line over 668 plate appearances with the Padres, earning All-Star and Silver Slugger recognition.

Since Ronald Acuna Jr. will miss some time at the start of the season recovering from his torn ACL, signing Profar was a logical way for the Braves to bolster their outfield ranks.  The plan was to have Profar and Michael Harris II play every day in left and center field, with Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz platooning in right field until Acuna is healthy, though if Profar now has to miss any time, Kelenic and De La Cruz could be bumped up to regular status in the corner outfield slots.  Eli White could get more playing time in this scenario, and non-roster invitees Jake Marisnick or Conner Capel might have a path to the Opening Day roster if Profar winds up on the injured list.

Losing Profar to the IL would be another blow to Atlanta’s everyday lineup.  Beyond Acuna still being on the mend, Sean Murphy broke a rib after hit by a pitch last week, leaving the starting catcher out of action for the next 4-6 weeks.  Top catching prospect Drake Baldwin is available as Murphy’s likely fill-in, but filling a hole in the outfield is trickier since the Braves were already lacking depth on the grass with Acuna out.

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